Jackie Collins

Infobox person
name =Jackie Collins

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imagesize =
caption = Jackie Collins, July 2008
birth_date = October 4 1937
birth_place = London, England
death_date =
death_place =
birth_name = Jacqueline Jill Collins
parents= Elsa Bessant Joseph William Collins
other_names =
occupation= Novelist
website = http://www.jackiecollins.com
spouses = Wallace Austin 1960-1964 Oscar Lerman 1966-1992
children = Tracy Lerman b. 1961
Tiffany Lerman b. 1966
Rory Lerman b. 1968
relatives= Joan Collins (sister)
Bill Collins (brother)
rating=
imdb_id =

Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins (born 4 October, 1937cite news|title=Birthdays|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=2006-10-04|page=33|accessdate=2008-05-22] cite news|title=Lucky be a lady|last=Gambotto-Burke|first=Antonella|work=South China Morning Post|location=Hong Kong|date=2007-07-22|page=1|accessdate=2008-05-22] ) is a British-born novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. Each of Collins' twenty-six novels have been on the "New York Times" bestsellers list.cite news|title=10 things about Jackie Collins|last=Leadbetter|first=Russell|work=The Evening Times|location=Glasgow|date=2007-10-17|page=27|accessdate=2008-05-22] cite news|title=Mistress of fiction|last=Roberts|first=Oliver|work=The Sunday Times|location=Johannesburg|date=2007-11-18|page=16|accessdate=2008-05-22]

Biography

Early life

Collins was born in London, the daughter of Elsa Bessant and Joseph William Collins, a theatrical agent whose clients included Shirley Bassey, The Beatles and Tom Jones. [cite web| title=Joe Collins, 85, actors agent, father of actress and novelist| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB7C33EC6AB70D8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM] Collins's South African-born father was Jewish and her British mother was Anglican. [cite web| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/arts/2007/09/20/bolor116.xml| title=Joan Collins: low cunning and high drama|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=2007-09-22|accessdate=2008-06-16] A middle child, Collins has one sister, actress Joan Collins (b.1933), and a younger brother, Bill Collins (b. 1946).

At 15, Collins was expelled from schoolcite web|url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/725:406/1/Jackie_Collins.htm|title=Jackie Collins|accessdate=2008-05-22|format=HTML|work=The Biography Channel] ; after she had been expelled, she threw her school uniform in the Thamescite news|title=In my own words - Jackie Collins|last=Buchanan|first=Kathy|work=The Sunday Telegraph Magazine|location=Sydney|date=2007-06-24|page=13|accessdate=2008-05-22] .

Early career

Like her sister, Collins began in acting roles, in a series of British B movies in the 1950s. She also made appearances in the 1960s ITC television series "Danger Man" and "The Saint" before giving up an on-screen career. She has since played herself in a few television series including "Minder" in 1980.

Writing career

Collins' first novel, "The World Is Full Of Married Men", was published in 1968. Its open sexuality caused novelist Barbara Cartland to call it "nasty, filthy and disgusting"cite news|title=Enduring star|first=Dianne|last=Butler|work=The Courier Mail|location=Brisbane|date=2007-05-19|accessdate=2008-05-22|page=M27] , and it was banned in Australia and South Africa. This scandal bolstered sales in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Collins' second novel, " The Stud", was published in 1969 and followed the sexually charged affairs of married Fontaine Khaled, who owns a fashionable London nightclub. It soon made the bestseller lists.

Collins' third novel, "Sunday Simmons & Charlie Brick", (first published under the title "The Hollywood Zoo" in the UK and then retitled "Sinners" worldwide in 1984) was published in 1971 and again made the bestseller lists.

"Lovehead" followed in 1974 (retitled "The Love Killers" in 1989). This novel was Collins' first foray into the world of organised crime — a genre that would later prove to be extremely successful for her. The plot concerned the organised murder of women's right activist and feminist Margaret Lawrence Brown. Three women -- two who are Margaret's half sisters and one who she saved from a life of working in the porn industry -- plan revenge on the mobster responsible, Enzio Bassalino.

Following this, Collins released two more novels in the mid 1970s: "The World Is Full Of Divorced Women" in 1975, and her longest novel, "Lovers & Gamblers", in 1977.

Later career

In 1978, Collins co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of her 1969 novel "The Stud", starring her older sister Joan as gold-digging adulteress Fontaine Khaled. Following this, Collins wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of her first novel "The World Is Full Of Married Men", which was released in 1979. She also released her seventh novel, " The Bitch", a sequel to "The Stud", which was also made into a successful film the same year, with Joan reprising her role. The film version of "The Bitch" was written and directed by Gerry O'Hara, based on Collins' source novel. Also in 1979, Collins wrote the screenplay for the film " Yesterday's Hero".

In the 1980s, Collins and her family moved to Los Angeles on a full time basis. Her next novel was " Chances", published in 1981 and which she described as her first "Harold Robbins-type" novel. It was also the first novel to introduce her most famous character, Lucky Santangelo, the "dangerously beautiful" daughter of a one-time gangster Gino Santangelo. While living in the hills above Sunset Boulevard, Collins collected the knowledge and experience to write her most successful novel, "Hollywood Wives" which was published in 1983. The novel hit the "New York Times" bestseller list at number one, and went on to sell fifteen million copies worldwide Fact|date=July 2007. Marketed as a "scandalous exposé", the novel placed Collins in a powerful position and made her a celebrity of almost equal status to sister Joan, whose own career had taken an upwards direction with her role in the hit US soap drama Dynasty. In 1985, Hollywood Wives was also made into a highly rated mini-series, produced by Aaron Spelling and starring Candice Bergen, Stefanie Powers, Angie Dickinson, Anthony Hopkins, Suzanne Sommers and Mary Crosby. Though credited as "Creative Consultant", Collins later stated that she was never consulted during production and that she did not agree with some of the casting choices. She then went on to write the sequel to "Chances" entitled "Lucky", published in 1985, "Hollywood Husbands" in 1986, "Rock Star" in 1988 and a third Lucky Santangelo novel, "Lady Boss", in 1990. Also in 1990, Collins wrote and co-produced a mini-series that combined her first two Santangelo novels entitled "Lucky Chances".

In 1992, Collins experienced a tremendous loss when her husband of twenty six years, Oscar Lerman, died of cancer. Around this time, Collins also wrote and produced another mini-series based on her Lucky Santangelo novel Lady Boss. She went on to pen several more bestsellers; "American Star" in 1993, "Hollywood Kids" in 1994 and the fourth Lucky Santangelo novel ' in 1996. In the mid-1990s, Collins met Los Angeles businessman Frank Calcagnini to whom she became engaged. Sadly Calcagnini also died of cancer in 1998 as Collins's attempted foray into talk television also floundered. She soon penned a new novel, "Thrill", and wrote a four-part series of mini novels to be released in a newspaper every six weeks called "L.A. Connections", introducing a new heroine in the form of journalist Madison Castelli. "Dangerous Kiss", the fifth Lucky Santangelo novel was published in 1999 and she soon brought back Madison Castelli in "Lethal Seduction", published in 2000. In 2001 she published ', which itself was later turned into a television movie starring Farrah Fawcett and Melissa Gilbert. "Deadly Embrace", the sequel to "Lethal Seduction", was published in 2002 and "Hollywood Divorces" was published in 2003. Her last two recent bestsellers were "Lovers & Players" in 2006 and "Drop Dead Beautiful" in 2007. Collins initially said on her website that this would probably be her final Lucky Santangelo novel, but has apparently since refuted this in an interview on BBC Radio 4 on 31st October 2007. Her new novel Married Lovers concerning the affairs of personal trainer Cameron Paradise will be published on June 10th 2008.Collins is currently working on a new novel, Poor Little Bitch Girl, about three strong, sexy, powerful women.

To date she has sold over 400 million copies of her novels which have been translated into 40 languages.

Other career highlights

In 2004, Collins created a series of specials for E!, which she hosted to great success. She also left her publisher of nearly twenty years, Simon & Schuster, in favour of St. Martin's Press as she grew restless with her current publishing situation. She has also signed a new deal with Fremantle Television to create a television series based on heiresses entitled "Rich Girls".

Personal life

Collins married her first husband, Wallace Austin, in 1959. They had a daughter and divorced after four and a half years.

In 1966 Collins married for the second time to art gallery and Ad-Lib Nightclub owner Oscar Lerman on 15 June 1965, in the home of sister Joan and (then) husband Anthony Newley. Together Collins and Lerman had two daughters and Lerman formally adopted Collins' daughter from her previous marriage. The marriage was dissolved upon Lerman's death in 1992 from prostate cancer.

In 1994 Collins became engaged to Los Angeles business executive Frank Calcagnini. Calcagnini died in 1998 from a brain tumor.

Collins now lives her life, in her own words, "like a cool bachelor, I have a man for all seasons" and resides in Beverly Hills, California in a mansion she designed herself.

Bibliography

*"The World Is Full Of Married Men" (1968)
*" The Stud" (1969)
*" Sinners" (first published as "Sunday Simmons & Charlie Brick") (1971)
*"The Love Killers" (first published as "Lovehead") (1974)
*"The World Is Full Of Divorced Women" (1975)
*"Lovers & Gamblers" (1977)
*" The Bitch" (1979)
*" Rock Star" (1988)
*" American Star" (1993)
*" Thrill" (1998)
*"Lovers & Players" (2006)
*"Married Lovers" (2008)
*"Poor Little Bitch Girl" (Pending 2009)

Hollywood Series
*"Hollywood Wives" (1983)
*"Hollywood Husbands" (1986)
*"Hollywood Kids" (1994)
*"" (2001)
*"Hollywood Divorces" (2003)

The Santangelo Novels
"See main article The Santangelo Novels"
*"Chances" (1981)
*"Lucky" (1985)
*"Lady Boss" (1990)
*"" (1996)
*"Dangerous Kiss" (1999)
*"Drop Dead Beautiful" (2007)

Madison Castelli Series
*"L. A. Connections" (serialised novel):
**"Power" (1998)
**"Obsession" (1998)
**"Murder" (1998)
**"Revenge" (1998)
*"Lethal Seduction" (2000)
*"Deadly Embrace" (2002)

ee also

* List of bestselling novels in the United States
*

References

External links

* [http://www.jackiecollins.com/ Jackie Collins.com] - The Official Jackie Collins Web Site
* [http://www.iblist.com/author9961.htm Jackie Collins] at the Internet Book List
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/362/000024290/] Jackie Collins at NNDB
*
* [http://www.stv.tv/content/out/outnewss/display.html?id=opencms:/out/showbiz/jackie_collins_video_interview "Jackie Collins: Getting personal", video interview with stv.tv] .