What were Jackie Collins’ secrets? She was an OBE, a prolific romance novelist and a would-be actress. Her 32 novels sold over 500 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 40 languages. All Jackie’s books appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. She became one of the most successful authors in publishing history and the highest paid author in the United Kingdom.
Joan Collins and Jackie Collins were another of Hollywood’s extremely powerful sisters.
Early Life
Joe Collins was very remote as a father, ultra-strict and a screamer. In the home it was ‘I am king!” but outside the home he was the ultimate charmer. Mother Elsa was the definitive 1960s housewife: sweet, loving, adorable, a quiet, gentle and a blonde beauty. Men lusted after Elsa, while women lusted after Joe who was a philanderer. Jackie Collins grew up with many secrets.
Joe Collins was South-African born, Jewish, and a show business agent. He was very proud of Joan, who entered the British film industry at age 17, before disappearing into Hollywood. From the beginning, Joan was the beautiful, glamorous four-year older sister.
Jackie was told by her father, she wasn’t slim enough, not beautiful enough, and girls should know their place. In Jackie’s own words, “There was a ‘double standard’. I grew up with it, didn’t you? Men had it all their own way and women were very good about it. They accepted it, waiting quietly in the kitchen or bedroom. Men could play around, but if a woman did, she was a slut.” Jackie could never reveal the depths of her feelings, but the fight for women’s independence shaped her entire life.
An Obsessive Recorder
At an early age Jackie began her lifetime of observing human nature and making notes. She used to read her father’s Playboy magazines and saw the fantastic apartments and cars the guys had. A secret she had to hide from her stern father.
Jackie kept a record of her entire life, making notes on what she observed. There are diaries and journals that she kept, along with all the other memorabilia of her amazing life. Jacki kept scrapbooks filled with everything ever written about her famous, film-star sister, Joan.
Early Introduction to Hollywood
At age 15, Jackie was expelled from the Francis Holland School in London. She was very shy but had a great body. Boys were attracted to her, though she didn’t have the flamboyant beauty of her sister. Yet, Jackie suffered from the younger-sister-syndrome as was recorded in her diary. “I get an awful inferiority complex when I am with Joan. I feel all big and clumsy and dull.”
Jackie visited her sister in Los Angeles, at age 16. She was the ‘kid’ of the glamourous people of the Hollywood in-set and a compatriot of the ‘Rat Pack‘. All the time she was writing down what was happening, “One day I am going to write all about this.” She had the gift of taking photos and notes, without appearing intrusive.
Jackie’s mother insisted she return to London, where she achieved a few small parts in British movies and television. She longed to be a successful actress like her famous sister, but eventually gave up on an acting career. 1959 Jackie began her series of cosmetic ‘fixing’, from a new nose to having her teeth fixed.
First Marriage add to Jackie’s Secrets
Jackie married her first husband, Wallace Austin, in 1960. He was charismatic but Jackie quickly discovered her husband was not ‘emotionally well’, as well as a drug addict. He was violent and abusive and underwent shock treatment. Jackie had so many secrets, that she couldn’t share with others.
At age 27, Jackie found the courage to leave her abusive husband. After only four-years of marriage she divorced him. Within a year, he committed suicide, which was something Jackie always knew he would do. “No one could stop him.”
Jackie and the Swinging 60s
The ‘in-place’ to be seen in the ‘Swinging 60s’, was the private, members-only nightclub Tramp, in central London. Men could not gain entrance, unless they were in the company of a woman. In 1978, the interior of Tramp was the backdrop for the film adaption of Jackie’s Stud. Jackie said “The happenings at Tramp gave me more research than I could handle.”
In 1965, Jacki married Oscar Leman, the American art gallery owner, theatre and film producer, and part-owner of Tramp. He was 18 years Jackie’s senior but worshipped the ground she walked on.
Jackie the Author
Oscar found one of Jackie’s unfinished manuscripts and encouraged her to not only finish it, but gave it to a publisher. He told Jackie, she was “A good storyteller.”
Her book, ‘The World is Full of Married Men’ was instantly accepted and published in 1968. Jackie’s life as an author had begun as she went where no female writer had dared to go. From the start her work was controversial, as her female characters acted the same as men. Jackie’s books started out with a downtrodden heroine, who outsmarted all the men in her life. They were women who unabashedly embraced power and had strong personalities, as she put women’s sexuality centre stage.
American Fame
Jackie’s books were popular in London but she desired to break into the American market. The family moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s. Living in the hills above Sunset Boulevard, Jackie continued her practice of ‘researching life’ for her books. “I would force myself to go to a party, watch the movie stars play, then write about in them in book.” She called it ‘research’.
In 1983, Hollywood Wives became her most commercially successful novel. It was a scandalous expose of the inner workings of Hollywood and sold over 15 million copies. Everyone was busy trying to work out who the characters in Jackie’s book represented.
In the 1980s, there was only a handful of good authors. Many wrote only one book then disappeared. Jackie not only broke that mould, but declared that she never wrote for commercial reasons, but simply aimed to be a good storyteller.
Competing Sisters
Jackie became a celebrity of near equal status to her sister Joan, who was playing a leading role in the television drama, Dynasty. Joan was the big Hollywood star, but Jackie was the ‘Queen of flash and trash.’ Barbara Cartland called Jackie’s books ‘filth’. Jackie defended herself with “I’m a woman writing about sex.”
Joan Collins published her first book in 1988, but she never achieved the author status her younger sister achieved. Just as Jackie never achieved the film-star status of Joan. Both were immensely glamorous women, and both were powerful Hollywood women, though they lived entirely different lives. If there was any rivalry between the sisters, it remained a well-kept secret.
Jackie’s Persona and her Secret Life
Jackie developed a startling, glamorous persona that was the image of the characters in her books. That persona became her personal protection.
Oscar and Jackie made the perfect team. He was her mentor and was proud of the way she handled her success. He adored Jackie, who never revealed her private life to her adoring public.
In 1989, Oscar was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Jackie was at the height of her fame and had difficulty coping with something so devastating. Oscar poured himself into building a magnificent house for Jackie, but died before the family moved in. Jackie and Oscar had been married for 26 years. This time, Jackie’s secret was her private grief.
The Hard 90s
Jackie’s way of dealing with her grief was to retreat into her writing. When she did make public appearances, it was as the Jackie she had created.
Jackie’s work came under heavy criticism, as her brand of feminism was outdated. However, she never relinquished her dream. “Women should have freedom and men and women should be equal.” Secretly, she stove to change her writing style.
In 1994, Collins became engaged to Los Angeles business executive Frank Calcagnini. It was if one of her characters had stepped right out of her book and he never seemed wholly comfortable with Jackie’s success.
More Secrets for Jackie Collins
Jackie tried to hide the fact that Frank was a gambler, and abusive, while appearing to all and sundry as a charmer. In some ways it was a replay of Joe Collins. Jackie put up with Frank’s narcistic control. When Frank became ill, he was furious with Jackie, because she continued with her writing. They were engaged, but never married. In 1998, Frank died from cancer.
Jackie determined she would never marry again. She said she had “Had a man for every occasion.”
More Success for Jackie Collins
The 2000s became Jackie’s busiest time, as she published eight best-sellers. Then more tragedy hit Jackie and she now had the biggest secret of all.
In 2007, Jackie discovered she had a lump in her breast, but like her father when her mother had breast cancer, she refused to acknowledge the fact. Jackie chose to ignore the lump and refused to let it be known. She never stopped working, claiming in her mind that the lump was benign.
Jackie was determined to visit her beloved London one more time. Just days before her death, Jackie did a television interview in London, promoting another of her books. Though clearly unwell, Jackie was dressed in her usual glamorous way and determined to the very finish. The public still did not know how ill Jackie was. She dreaded sympathy, as “It can weaken you.”
In 2015, Jackie died of breast cancer, two weeks before her 78th birthday. Joan Collins was devastated by her sister’s death, which she only learned about through the media. Jackie had told her sister about the cancer only two weeks before her death.
Jackie Collins Remained True to Herself
Right to the end, Jackie Collins remained true to the image she had created. She was the epitome of the ethos she created in the 80s, “Women can do anything.”
Jackie was a larger-than-life character and very few people saw past the façade, or how fragile this famous woman was. Everyone felt they were Jackie’s best friend, as she was warm and most presentable. Yet, she gave very little out about herself. What she wrote and who she was, were two different things. She had two different personas and was the expert supreme at compartmentalization.
She broke ground for all women and epitomized the ‘Lady Boss’. Women got to be selfish in bed, through Jackie Collins’ work. Her daughter, Tiffany, described her mother as “A bit of a superwoman.”
Jackie did what she Loved
Through it all, Jackie did what she loved and loved what she did. Jackie exited this world, with no regrets. As she said, in a mirror of Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way.” She had a dream and remained dedicated and true to it, throughout her life and her voice lives on.
Jackie Collins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to fiction and charity. She was a celebrated author for 55 years. Dame Joan Collins, DBE, was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth in 2015, for her charitable services. She celebrated her 70th year in show business in 2021. Both sisters were Hollywood women of power, each in their own way.
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Wendy is an inspirational writer, for which she has a strong passion. She is also very passionate about her garden and family. She says life is too short to waste, so live it to the fullest.
Check out other posts at Whispering Encouragement. We are here to inform and encourage. Talk to us. Tell us of any person, business, or incident you would like to see highlighted. Subscribe, for free, so you can keep up to date with topics that interest you.
________________________Whispering Encouragement_______________________
Wendy is an inspirational writer, for which she has a strong passion. She is also very passionate about her garden and family. She says life is too short to waste, so live it to the fullest.
