Joan Collins, a prominent figure in British cinema, is best known for her role as the cunning and vindictive Alexis Carrington Colby in the soap opera Dynasty, which aired from 1981 to 1989.

The actress, born on May 23, 1933 in Paddington, London, is the daughter of Elsa Collins, a dance teacher, and Joseph William Collins, a talent agent whose clients included Shirley Bassey, Roger Moore and The Beatles.

Her childhood was unusual as she grew up during the Blitz. Years later, Joan thought it would be great to make a film about how she and her sister grew up at that time, but her dream never came true.

Despite this, the actress said that while the war was going on, she was just a child and did not know about the bombing. Every evening she collected garbage from the streets and put it in a cigar box.

She said: “We painted stupid portraits of Hitler. We were evacuated 10 or 12 times. We were at subway stations and people were playing harmonicas and singing.”