PRESS UPDATE : OK! .. ISSUE NOVEMBER 5TH 2019 ..

Above: Dame Joan says the identity of the actress who will play her in a new TV show is ‘top secret’. Left: With her late sister Jackie

OK! ENJOYS AN EVENING DAME JOAN COLLINS

DAME JOAN COLLINS OPENS UP TO OK!’S ROWAN ERLAM ABOUT THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF HER LIFE AND SHARES HER SECRET TO A HAPPY MARRIAGE

• OK! (UK)
• 29 Oct 2019

National treasure Dame Joan Collins has exclusively opened up to OK! about her roller-coaster life in the spotlight, admitting it hasn’t always been a riot of champagne and shoulder pads. The glamorous star was speaking at a glittering reception hosted by Penny Brohn UK, a charity which supports people with cancer.

Revealing all about the highly anticipated television series which will follow the life of her and her late sister, best-selling author Jackie, Dame Joan told us: ‘There are going to be so many big moments to cover as Jackie and I have both had very interesting lives.’

The actress, who has famously been married five times, added: ‘We’ve had our ups and downs, we’ve had our tragedies and our bad marriages. I’m a producer on the show. I’m not going to say who I would like to play me. However, there is someone who we are talking about using, but I can’t say who it is yet. It’s top secret! The show is going to be set from the early ‘50s when we were teenagers to the early ‘80s, when I was on the number one television show in America and she had the number one selling book. It’ll cover 30 years of our lives.’

The Penny Brohn UK event, hosted by Sir Jack and Lady Petchey, Frances Segelman, in their London home and exclusively covered by OK!, was to celebrate the unveiling of a bronze of Dame Joan, sculpted by Frances, an esteemed royal sculptor.

The charity is close to the former Dynasty actress’s heart as it supported Jackie after her breast cancer diagnosis in 2009. Jackie, who chose to

keep her illness a secret from her fans and family, passed away in 2015, two weeks before her 78th birthday.

Movingly, Dame Joan explained: ‘As you know, my sister died of br east cancer, which is sadly something that so many people are going to get. Our mother also died of that as well. My sister was very brave and didn’t tell anyone until the end. She was supported by Penny Brohn and that was who she wanted to leave a lot of her things to, and the charity she thought was the best, because it really takes care of people when they get cancer and they don’t have anyone to really talk to. They can meet people in the same boat, as it were.’

When we asked if she too was fearful of a cancer diagnosis, she said: ‘It’s terrifying how many people are affected by cancer, but it’s very important to get checked and I do get checked regularly and I eat very healthily and have a good lifestyle. I don’t smoke, but I do have the occasional wine, which I think is okay! But you never know – my mother didn’t smoke and she got cancer at 52, and my father did smoke and he lived to be 87. Let’s hope I’ve inherited my father’s genes!’

Dame Joan is still a regular on the party scene with her husband of 17 years, Percy Gibson. Her secret? Living life to the full! ‘My tip would be: don’t go anywhere unless you feel like you’re going to enjoy it. And if you are going to go, then just make the absolute best effort that you can. A lot of the time people have to go to weddings and events that they don’t want to go to, but you have to take the bull by the horns and go,

‘She’s just got the most fabulous Sense of humour’

find the best person to speak to and enjoy the canapés, wine and atmosphere.’

It’s another British icon with a penchant for diamonds who inspires the star – her majesty! ‘The Queen is the greatest example of a person and a ruler that exists. It’s the hardest thing to do what she does – smile, be interested and stand still, and she’s carried that on for 65 years.’

Earlier in the evening, Dame Joan – who was OK!’S first ever cover star – was introduced by This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes.

Before unveiling Frances’s stunning bronze statue, which Joan had sat for 18 months ago, Eamonn said: ‘Frances, you had the responsibility of recreating Dame Joan. And Dame Joan, my admiration for you – you know it’s genuine and you know it’s sincere. Lots of people can be famous and lots of people can be on the cover of magazines, but not many people can have a career at the top, doing the things that she has done for the amount of time she has.

‘Sometimes it’s not about getting there, it’s about staying there. And you have stayed there at multiple levels. You have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. When you started out in Hollywood, making films, how old were you?’ To which Dame Joan responded: ‘I started in films in England when I was 17. I did about seven or eight films in England and then I was sold to 20th Century Fox in America when I was 20.’

She quipped: ‘I went to America, which was very difficult to get to in the 18th Century!’

She went on to share how she’d worked with some of the biggest legends in Hollywood, telling us: ‘The first person I met in Hollywood was Gene Kelly – he was a fabulous man – and the second person I met was Bette Davis. She smoked all the time. But I smoked then, we all smoked! We didn’t know the dangers of smoking. If there are any pictures of me from that time then I always had a packet of Lucky Strike down my cleavage! I also worked with Gregory Peck, Paul Newman, Bing Crosby… It was a great time in Hollywood.’

Dame Joan said she was ‘delighted’ with her sculpture, adding: ‘I love what you’ve done with the hair and the diamond earrings! And I think the face looks very much like me. I love the eyes – they’re amazing.’

Her loyal husband Percy was, of course, there to support his wife on the night. She once famously joked of her younger man: ‘If he dies, he dies!’ But, thankfully, Percy, 54, was on sparkling form. When we asked what he cherishes about his wife, he told us: ‘She’s just got the most fabulous sense of humour. Our motto is: “Eat up life or life will eat you up.”’

At the end of the evening, Eamonn shared his fond memories of the actress’s beloved sibling, telling her: ‘I’d just like to say of your sister, Jackie, she was the most accessible and friendly person and my last memory of her was in the airport lounge at Heathrow. She was flying to Belfast for a talk show and I was flying to Belfast too and we had, what we would say back at home, a great bit of craic.’

In mock shock, Dame Joan responded: ‘Crack?!’ and guests dissolved into giggles.

It was a great evening for a great cause.

‘i smoked then, we all smoked! we didn’t know the dangers of smoking’

PRESS UPDATE : OK! MAGAZINE .. ON NEWS STANDS OCTOBER 29TH 2019 ..

Check out the cover of the latest issue of OK! magazine on news stands in UK & Ireland from Tuesday 29th October, which features Joan on the cover and an exclusive interview inside & coverage of last Tuesday's Frances Segelman Bronze unveiling!

DVD ALERT : DYNASTY THE REUNION .. REGION 4 .. OCTOBER 23RD 2019 AUSTRALIA ..

Delighted to report that the 1991 miniseries of 'Dynasty The Reunion' has just been released on Region 4 dvd in Australia.. You can order a copy of this 2 part special at the following link!
Order Dynasty The Reunion Here!

FOR THE FIRST TIME ON DVD COMES THE SCANDALOUS CONCLUSION TO THE GREATEST TV SOAP OF THEM ALL!

The 1991 two-part event – Dynasty: The Reunion – reunited the characters from the hit American prime time television soap Dynasty, a series which aired from 1981 to 1989 and was the highest-rated U.S. series in 1985.

The original series finale of Dynasty, broadcast in May 1989, had left oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) shot by a corrupt policeman, his beloved wife Krystle (Linda Evans) in an off-screen coma, and his conniving ex-wife Alexis Colby (Joan Collins) plunging from a balcony. Dynasty: The Reunion picks up two years later as Blake — having survived the shooting but then convicted for the death of his attacker — is pardoned and released from prison.

Tie up all the loose ends with the 3-hour, 2-part finale on DVD.

EVENT UPDATE : MADE UP LEEDS .. THE IVY VICTORIA QUARTER .. LEEDS .. OCTOBER 26TH 2019

Photo courtesy of  Bob Peters

Joan made a special appearance at the Made Up Leeds Festival earlier today to discuss everything beauty & makeup and the secrets of Hollywood glamour with her personal makeup artist Alyn Waterman..

COMING SOON : THE LOSS ADJUSTER ... DECEMBER 2020 ..

Joan as Margaret Rogerson Sykes & Luke Goss as Martin Dyer

Delighted to announce that you will soon see Joan back on the big screen in a new comedy drama from Pink Flamingo Films, 'The Loss Adjuster' currently filming for a December 2020 release. The film co stars Luke Goss, Guy Siner & Cathy Tyson.. Watch this space for updates!

Hapless Insurance Loss Adjuster - Martin Dyer - feels his life is spiralling out of control but discovers that even when you reach rock bottom, that some clouds really do have a silver lining. 

EVENT UPDATE : DAME JOAN COLLINS SCULPTURE UNVEILING .. WAPPING LONDON .. OCTOBER 22ND 2019 ..

Last May Joan sat for a live sculpture sitting with renowned sculptress Frances Segelman at London's Film Museum in aid of Penny Brohn Cancer Charity. Frances kindly opened her wapping townhouse to a select gathering this week to unveil the finished masterpiece, once again in aid of Penny Brohn. TV host Eamonn Holmes was on hand to host the proceedings as he interviewed Joan before the unveiling.. You can see exclusive coverage of the event in the latest issue of OK! magazine on sale on Monday 28th..

PRESS UPDATE : THE SPECTATOR NOTEBOOK .. OCTOBER 26TH 2019 ..

Notebook

Joan Collins: why I love London taxi drivers

Joan Collins

Percy and I have seen quite a few movies recently and enjoyed many of them, which is rare. But the most enjoyable was Judy, for the performance of its star, Renée Zellweger. I met Judy Garland many times when I had just arrived in Hollywood as a young starlet and I can tell you that Renée resembles her uncannily, both physically and emotionally. Judy was fragile and birdlike, but her voice was strong and magical. I watched her sing at a party given by the legendary songwriter Sammy Cahn, who accompanied her on the piano. Apart from Miss Garland’s brilliant voice, it was fascinating to watch the audience. People who were great stars in their own right — Frank Sinatra, Rosalind Russell and Billy Wilder — were entranced by her performance. I last saw Judy perform at the Hollywood Bowl, an open-air amphitheatre. She was doing superbly, delivering a rousing rendition of ‘The Trolley Song’, when a moth flew into her mouth and she applied the emergency brake.

At tea with friends and their 15-year-old daughter, I was astonished to learn that at her school none of the girls are allowed to wear trousers. Not only that, but however cold it is, they can’t even wear above-the-knee socks, for fear of exciting the boys. The boys, meanwhile, are apparently allowed to wear exactly what they like — skirts, kilts, shorts or trousers. What on earth has happened to women’s rights? 

It’s the same as it ever was: anything goes for the male sex. Just think of the whole silly bathroom fiasco. So many loos have been converted into gender-neutral facilities (or unisex as we used to call it) that girls are suffering from urine infections (I’ve read). The girls would rather hold it in than be trapped and taunted by the boys in an unsupervised, and therefore potentially frightening, place. The ‘ladies room’, ‘powder room’, ‘rest room’ has for centuries been a haven for us females. The floors are usually dry and you can finally escape that misogynistic old bore. It’s the original safe space. How ironic that the 21st century is removing them. In the 1970s, the famous Virginia Slims advert promised that we’d ‘come a long way, baby’. But the way things are heading, we’re going an equally long way back, baby.

Trying to get around London in Extinction Rebellion protest week was a nightmare, but come to think of it, getting around London for the past five years has been a nightmare. I confess I don’t walk if I have to travel more than a half-mile.That’s the prerogative of my age and tax bracket. Instead I take my favourite form of transport: the London black cab. I love these taxi drivers and their views on current affairs — mostly because they usually mirror mine. I’ve had several interesting conversations with cabbies recently who all told me that they are 30 to 40 per cent down on their takings because of the protests, plus London roadworks. I dread to think how many other workers have lost part of their livelihoods because of them. I know I haven’t recently been near any of the establishments I often shop at because of the maddening building works. Perhaps Extinction Rebellion should consider the damage to people’s lives as well as the damage to the planet.

Speaking of the endless construction around London, last Friday morning workmen began putting up scaffolding against the outside wall of our apartment building. When I asked the managing agent if they had permission to do this, she said she knew nothing about it. Now it turns out that they don’t have permission, nor a licence to alter, yet the scaffolding continues to creep up the wall of our building regardless. How is this allowed to happen? It seems that while illegal works are, well, illegal, the process involved in shutting them down is so arduous and expensive that most of the time it’s just easier to let whomever get on with whatever they’re doing because half the time they’ll be done with it before you stop them. And if that last sentence made sense then you should be in the building trade.

I won an award last week. I was honoured that the LGBTQ+ community, represented by the Attitude Awards, named me ‘Icon of the Year’ for 2019. It was fun to catch up with an eclectic group of people. Taron Egerton, who brilliantly portrayed Elton John in Rocketman, was charming — enthusiastic and witty. Shirley Ballas, whom I admire greatly for her clever and accurate critiques on Strictly Come Dancing, informed me that she was a fan of me, as I am of her. Cheryl (is she Cole these days?) came by for a cheery hello and we took a lovely photo together. I sat between the famed perfumer Roja Dove, all a-sequinned, and the equally sequinned Julian Clary, who is a really good friend, even though he tells the most outrageously exaggerated anecdotes about how he saved me from drowning in my pool in the south of France. Dream on, Julian!

EVENT UPDATE : LADY GARDEN GALA .. CLARIDGES .. LONDON.. OCTOBER 16TH 2019 ..

Joan addresses the gathering with Tamara Beckwith

Joan joined good friend Tamara Beckwith at the annual Lady Garden Charity Gala held earlier at Claridges.. 

Joan with Sarah Ferguson

The Lady Garden Foundation is a national women’s health charity, raising awareness and funding for research into gynaecological cancers. We started in 2014 to fund groundbreaking research into the treatment of these cancers at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. As the oldest cancer hospital in the world, The Royal Marsden remains one of the largest cancer centres in Europe, with a truly global impact.

The money raised by the Lady Garden Foundation has funded cutting-edge studies which we hope will revolutionise the treatment of these cancers.

Joan with Katherine Jenkins

Joan with sister in law Hazel Collins

EVENT UPDATE : STREET CHILD / HELLO! MOTHER & DAUGHTER AFTERNOON TEA.. OCTOBER 10TH 2019 ..

To celebrate Day of the Girl, 'Hello' magazine hosted a mother & daughter themed afternoon tea at Claridges to support Street Child Charity whose patron Sarah Ferguson celebrated a special birthday. Joan attended the event with daughters Katy & Tara... You can see exclusive photos from the afternoon in the latest issue of 'Hello' magazine, out now!

EVENT UPDATE : GWS AUCTIONS .. JOAN COLLINS PLAYBOY COVER GOWN AUCTION .. THE HARD ROCK CAFE HOLLYWOOD .. NOVEMBER 9TH 2019 ..

Joan Collins One of a Kind Jeran Designs Poinsettia Vermicelli Couture Gown Worn on December 1983 Playboy Cover W/Custom Dress Form, Framed Playboy Cover, Framed Gloves/Original Sketch & Life Sized Standee - This magnificent evening gown was worn by Joan Collins on the iconic December 1983 Christmas Edition Playboy Magazine cover. The gown is constructed of red chiffon and is beaded in the vermicelli style with red bugle beads and finished with a silver bugle bead and crystal lochrosen trim in various sizes. The form-fitting gown has a deep plunging neckline to the waist, a thigh high slit on the left side and a single spaghetti strap on the right. The hip and strap are embellished with handmade poinsettia flowers comprised of various sizes of crystal lochrosens, rose montee jewels, silver bugle beads and sequins beautifully matching the trim. The gown has a low back with three diagonal straps beaded with bugle beads, crystal lochrosens and sequins. The gown is accompanied by the custom made dress form of Joan Collins, framed presentation with the cover worn gloves and original sketch which is signed by Collins, Jerry Skeels and Randy McLaughlin, framed Playboy cover and a life sized standee display. Approximate measurements: bust-36", waist-26", hip-36"

                       

Jeran Designs was founded by Emmy Award-nominated designers and life-partners of 30 years, Jerry Skeels and Randy McLaughlin. The pair were the epitome of Hollywood glamour through the 1980s and 90s, and created some of the decade's most iconic fashions. They created the sparkling red gown worn by Joan Collins on her December 1983 Playboy Magazine cover, and the infamous "Hollywood Graffiti Gown" hand-beaded with the signatures of over 345 of Hollywood's most influential women in entertainment and other fields. The Graffiti Gown took over 24 years to come to life and was created to bring awareness to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the United States. The gown was first envisioned by McLaughlin in 1980, and was finished and revealed in 2004 at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences "TV Cares Ribbon of Hope Celebration" where the duo were honored for their humanitarian efforts in creating the gown. In addition to the one-of-a-kind Playboy and Graffiti gowns, Skeels and McLaughlin created the wedding dress with a 10-foot train worn by Nikki Reed Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) on The Young and the Restless, and dressed the likes of Connie Sellecca, Cheryl Ladd, Lana Turner, Kim Novak, Donna Mills, Lindsay Wagner, Tina Turner, Natalie Cole, Little Richard and the legendary Liberace at the height of the 80s and 90s. The pair also designed for the models on Star Search and spent 22 years designing gowns for the models and for prizes of "The Price Is Right," and created pieces for shows such as "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful."

Bid Here on Joan's Fabulous Gown!

PRESS UPDATE : HARPER'S BAZAAR USA .. NOVEMBER 2019 ..

Joan Collins on Her Legendary Style and How Donald Trump Influenced Her Character on Dynasty..

From Dynasty to damehood, Joan Collins’s reach as a fashion icon remains unparalleled. Here, she sits down with her goddaughter Cara Delevingne to discuss the elements of style.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL AVEDON; FASHION EDITOR: MIGUEL ENAMORADO

 OCT 10, 2019

Valentino jacket and shorts; Valentino Garavani belt; Wolford top; Harry Winston earrings; Jarin K Jewelry brooch; Wing & Weft Gloves; Her own ring; Giuseppe Zanotti shoes.

MICHAEL AVEDON

JOAN COLLINS: Hi, darling. How are you?

CARA DELEVINGNE: I’m good! Let’s talk fashion. Who are your favorite fashion designers and why?

JC: Well, obviously Valentino, darling. Because I’ve known Valentino Garavani since 1968, when I first went to his atelier in Italy. I needed to borrow something for a TV appearance in Rome, and somebody suggested I go to him. I borrowed a divine short, beaded bolero, and ever since then he’s been a great friend. I’ve been on the boat, I’ve been to his houses everywhere, and now that Pierpaolo [Piccioli] has taken over, you know I still support them. I’m kind of eclectic in my taste—I design a lot of my own clothes. Did you know that I designed a lot of my clothes for Dynasty?

CD: Which is incredible. Did you know there’s a whole Instagram dedicated to what Alexis wore on the show?

JC: Yes, somebody told me the other day. I look at those clothes—and there are thousands of them—and I have no recollection of wearing any of them. It was a long, long time ago. But apparently everybody is starting to look at Dynasty again, as well as the new one. People seem to like the remake.

CD: Of course. If you look at all the runways recently, like Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton, they’ve all started using very Alexis-esque fashion, with big shoulders and animal prints and stuff like that. Why do you think designers are bringing back that kind of style now? Why does it feel current?

JC: I’ll tell you. Because it’s extremely flattering to have big shoulders. It makes your hips look smaller and your waist tinier. The styling was a bit over-the-top in the ’80s and ’90s: Some of the earrings were too big, the skirts too short, and the shoulders too exaggerated. But on the whole I think the look was fabulous. I have to say, I don’t think today’s fashion is nearly as flattering. I mean it’s flattering to somebody of your generation maybe but not mine. And I think perhaps that’s why they’re going back to more of a tailored look with the big shoulders and the pantsuits.

CD: I think the ’80s were about power dressing, which is something women are trying to get back to now.

Jc: And Alexis was very clever in that way. She was like anybody in business—you have to be manipulative and devious and clever to be ahead of the game. I based that character slightly on my then friend Donald Trump, who was far away from becoming the president at that time.

CD: Tell me about the change you’ve seen in the way women are treated now compared to when you first started. How much has it changed? Should we be proud of how far we’ve come, or do you think progress is moving too slowly?

JC: I think in certain parts of the world it’s moving, yeah, at a reasonable pace. I think that certainly actresses, models, and people in our business have been able to make a difference. You won’t find producers and directors and actors talking to women in an insulting way or making passes at them or feeling them up or doing any of the things I was told I had to expect when I was a very young actress. It was horrible, but back then you just put up with it or did the old knee-in-the-groin bit, which I did a lot.

CD: I’m sure you did that many times.

JC: Right! I think we have a long way to go still. But I’m glad to see that younger women won’t put up with any of that. My granddaughter, who’s 21, works in a restaurant. There’s lots of people who come in and make passes at her or say suggestive things. She tells me, “Oh, I just ignore them or elbow them.”

CD: [The writer] Gore Vidal once said you were one of the only celebrities he’d ever met with a sense of humor. I totally agree with him: You are one of the funniest people I know. Why do you think humor is so lacking in Hollywood these days?

JC: Everybody has to be so careful now because people get offended so easily. There’s a whole slew of things that you cannot make fun of anymore. There’s no humor left.

CD: When you married Percy [Gibson], you told an interviewer, “If he dies, he dies.” Which is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my whole life. How long have you been married to him now?

JC: Seventeen years and eight months. You came to the wedding, darling. You were nine or something, and [your sisters] Poppy and Chloe came. You danced and pranced, and we had a really good time.

CD: Who sang at the wedding? Someone sang at the wedding, and I’m trying to remember.

JC: Shirley Bassey sang at the wedding.

CD: Shirley Bassey!

JC: Yeah. And after Roger Moore helped her down from the stage, she said, “I couldn’t hear the band.” And he said, “That’s because there wasn’t one, Shirley.” Because she was singing a cappella. It was a wonderful wedding at Claridge’s. I love Claridge’s.

CD: What do you think the secret has been to the success of this marriage with Percy?

JC: Oh, well, first of all we became friends before we went to stage two. We like the same things. We have the same desires in life. And also the fact that even though he’s some 30 years younger than me, his mother had him very late, and his father was two years younger than my father. So we were both brought up with a certain set of values. He’s also a marvelous person. Totally wonderful. He just saved our lives the other day from the fire. Did you hear about it?

CD: No! Tell me.

JC: We were in our flat in London. We were lying on the bed on Saturday afternoon watching a movie, and suddenly smoke starts coming down the corridor. The guest bathroom was on fire—all the towels were in flames.

CD: No!

JC: I grabbed the phone and called the fire department, and Percy grabbed the extinguisher and started to put out the fire. It was terrifying because he didn’t get it all out, obviously. And so the fire department came 10 minutes later: three fire trucks, two ambulances. They closed the streets. I was out on the pavement barefoot, in a dressing gown.

CD: That’s terrifying.

JC: And the fire department praised Percy very much and said, “You have saved the building from burning up,” which he did. When the head firefighter came in, he said, “You know, what you did was wonderful. But don’t ever do it again. It was very stupid.” He went into a room full of smoke. But that’s the sort of person he is. So that’s our latest saga.

CD: Never a dull moment.

JC: Never.

This article originally appears in the November 2019 issue of Harper's BAZAAR, available on newsstands October 22.

Hair and makeup: Joey Maalouf

PRESS UPDATE : ATTITUDE MAGAZINE .. THE AWARDS ISSUE .. NOVEMBER 2019 ..

To celebrate Joan's Icon Award, 'Attitude' magazine features a sensational shot of Joan on the cover of the latest issue, out now! Inside is an exclusive interview with more stunning photos.. 

Joan and Attitude editor in chief Cliff Joannou

PRESS UPDATE : THE YORKSHIRE POST .. OCTOBER 10TH 2019 ..

Dame Joan Collins to headline Made Up Leeds beauty festival

Dame Joan Collins headlines the Made Up Leeds beauty festival, in conversation with her make-up artist, Alyn Waterman, at Victoria Leeds during the two-day event, which takes place over the weekend of October 26 and 27th

By Stephanie Smith

The legend that is Joan Collins is coming to Leeds to share her beauty tips. Stephanie Smith reports.

Dame Joan Collins will headline a prestigious make-up and beauty festival in Leeds later this month.

Joan in Leeds in 1979.

The legendary actress, author and beauty icon will be in conversation with her make-up artist Alyn Waterman at Victoria Leeds during the two-day event, which takes place over the weekend of October 26 and 27.

Dame Joan, a Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated actress whose novels and memoirs have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, will be at the Victoria Quarter from 3pm-4.30pm on Saturday, October 26.

Her love of make-up started when watching her glamorous mother and aunts. She went on to work with Allan “Whitey” Snyder (Marilyn Monroe’s make-up artist) who introduced her to Hollywood make-up. As well as her own beauty products, she is currently one of the faces of the latest Charlotte Tilbury campaign.

Dame Joan has been a frequent visitor to the city in the course of her stellar, eclectic and long-standing career. In 1979, aged, 46, she rode into Leeds in a white Rolls Royce to talk about her latest (and 50th) film, The Bitch. An article celebrating the appearance in the Yorkshire Evening Post read: “Actress, philosopher and undisputed queen of the unclad, is in Leeds to talk about her latest film.

Joan Collins pictured at the Yorkshire Post Literary Luncheon at the Queens Hotel, Leeds in 2002.

“She sips the champagne and extracts a long cigarette from a leather case with almost indecent elegance.”

“You’ve got to look after yourself,“ quipped Joan at the time. Her Joan Collins’s Beauty Book, a practical guide with pictures of her exercising and applying make up, was due to be published the following year.

 Dame Joan grew up during the Second World War and made her stage debut at the age of nine. At 22, she went to Hollywood and starred in a number of films, including The Girl In The Red Velvet Swing (1955), and provided cameos in Star Trek and other series. In 2015, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to charity.

The Joan Collins Timeless Beauty range is sold via her own website and at Marks & Spencer.

Also appearing at Made Up Leeds will be the inspirational Katie Piper, who will also appear on Saturday, October 26.

Influencer Reuben de Maid will tell all about his work and success and do a meet and greet at Trinity Leeds on the Sunday.

Made Up Leeds is an inclusive event going beyond beauty, covering make-up in all its forms for all people. The inaugural festival from LeedsBID last year included demos, makeovers, speakers and 100+ offers from the city’s biggest cosmetic brands. Made Up Leeds won the CIPR Excellence Award for Best Integrated Campaign 2019 and was shortlisted for The Holmes Report SABRE’s EMEA and PR Moments Awards 2019.

Championing possibilities for self-expression, beauty lovers will be able to immerse themselves in a host of activities taking place in stores across the city all over the weekend. For event tickets, exclusive discounts and offers from a range of retailers, sign up for a Beauty Passport at madeupleeds.co.uk.