Jackie Collins

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FAMOUS WOMEN AND BEAUTY FEATURING: Jackie Collins Biography Born 4 October, 1941 Jacqueline Jill Collins, Occupation: novelist

Her road to fame is an ultimate immigrant success story. The best-selling novelist who writes about international jet set, and a very rich woman, she does not seem to ever want to retire.

"I think when you really want to tell stories, you do it because you love to do it. And I love what I do. I’ve never done it for the money."
– Jackie Collins

Here is her story.

Jackie Collins - Childhood

Jacqueline Jill Collins was born on October 4, 1941 in London. She was eight years younger than her sister Joan. Jackie was a very sensitive and much more insecure child than her older sister. She worshiped her mother and was less open with her father. Her father, Joe Collins was a successful theatrical agent and an entrepeneur, who represented, among others, Peter Sellers, Shirley Bassey and Roger Moore.

Joe Collins was a very critical and dominating personality, and his both daughters, Joan and Jackie, as well as their mother, suffered from his chauvinism. He would not encourage talents of his both daughters. Nevertheless, his criticism would still be the reason for them to aim higher. Jackie recalled:

"When I was a small girl and I asked him a question, he’d say, ′You’re old enough and ugly enough to know.′ The world ugly was demeaning, but that’s what made me want to succeed. I had to prove I wasn’t ugly and that I could do anything I set my mind to do."
– Jackie Collins

Elsa, Jackie’s mother, was an opposite to him: beautiful, affectionate and loving, softly encouraging her daughters on their chosen career paths. Elsa Collins would always remain the role model for her both daughters.

The dream about the future career path was formed early. An introvert, Jackie preferred to spend hours alone with her books. She loved to read Chandler and Fitzgerald and particularly adored Mickey Spillane. Even though she grew up in England, Jackie was fascinated by anything American. Her childhood dream was to go to Hollywood and become a writer or a journalist. At the age of eleven, she wrote her first story about a girl who wants to be a movie star.

When her father caught her reading D. H. Lawrence’s "Lady Chatterley’s Lover", which Jackie found between his shirts, he got very angry. "This book is pornographic. You must not read books like this." To which Jackie replied coolly that she had already read it.

In his autobiography, Joe Collins gave his thoughts about his influence on Jackie’s bestselling status:

"Looking back, I wonder now if Jackie learned a useful tip through me; even a non-reader like me will buy a book if everyone is talking about it, saying it’s spicy and shocking. Perhaps that I why she chose to write such books herself."

Jackie Collins - Years are school

According to Jackie, she did not do well at school. Neither did she show any written talents to her teachers. Her teachers at Francis Holland school described her later as a very ordinary girl who lived in a shadow of her charming and bright elder sister. At thirteen, Jackie started to show a rebellious behavior: she refused to go to school and forged notes. Her mind drifted somewhere else. At the age of thirteen she had already written a novel. At fifteen Jackie was expelled from school for smoking.

"I’ve made it without education. Actually, I’m an eccentric, " admitted Jackie Collins later.

First time in Hollywood

After getting expelled from school, the parents tried to dissuade Jackie from writing. According to them, she simply did not have any talent to realize her dream to become an author. Her father suggested to try acting and become a movie star like her sister Joan. The idea seemed very exciting, and Jackie went to Hollywood.

She was almost sixteen and this was one of the best years of her life. "Having a sister who was a movie star was sensational. To have entree to meeting more or less anybody because she knew – and still does – everyone."

Even though Jackie had managed to get a place in Twentieth Century’s school for the actors, she did not manage to obtain a work permit. This was the reason that Jackie had to return to London after eleven months in Hollywood. Later, in her books she would place her fictional characters in the real places she had visited.

Beginning of her career

Back in London, Jackie Collins tried some acting jobs. She did not have a problem of getting parts. However, she did have a problem with her role of Joan Collins’s sister. Although she would never complain about living in the shadow of Joan’s fame, this was definitely an issue at that time. Having thought about changing her name, she still decided against it. After all, she thought, the reporters would still come after her real name, and it would not solve her problem.

The only occupation that absorbed her, was writing. She spent endless hours in the privacy of her bedroom, writing until morning. Later, Jackie admitted that she always saw herself as an out-of-work writer who was doing acting jobs for money. Acting did not become important to her. However, it would give her insights into every aspect of a movie career.

Marriage and sorrows

Jackie Collins married Wallace Austin in December 1960 at the age of nineteen. Her marriage was a socially appropriate choice. Wallace came from a wealthy Jewish family, successful in the clothing business. "I think I married him because everybody said I couldn’t – that he wouldn’t want to marry me, " said Jackie later. It was in a way a tragic marriage. Wallace Austin was a manic depressive person who had been put on drugs. Although Jackie always considered her first husband a fabulous person, she admitted later:

"You can live your life trying to save someone for only so long."

After a year of marriage, Jackie gave a birth to a baby daughter Tracy. Then, in a relatively short time period of three years, Jackie lost her mother to cancer, and her husband died in a car accident. By that time, the couple had been divorced. Despite the family tragedies, Jackie remained "the tower of strength". She felt she had to raise her daughter by herself and begin a new chapter of her life.

Jackie Collins – professional writer

When Jackie met Oscar Lerman, a Philadelphia-born businessman and the owner of the trendy nightclub called Tramp, Jackie did not seem to know that this friendship would lead to a happy marriage. Oscar Lerman expressed a genuine interest in her unfinished and unpublished manuscripts, which gave Jackie a further impulse to finish and publish her novel "The World Is Full of Married Men". By the time the novel was published in 1968, the couple had been happily married.

Jackie recalled: "When I first met my husband I hadn’t finished my first book, "The World Is Full of Married Men." I thought if I sent it around to publishers, I’d be putting myself up for rejection. Right away, he kept insisting. "You can do it." I haven’t forgotten that. My husband is incredibly supportive."

Jackie Collins sent her manuscript directly to the publisher, without an agent. It was accepted. Within one week after it’s publication in England, the novel made it to the top of the list of bestsellers.

The book caused a stir, and it was banned in Australia and South Africa. However, the scandal boosted the sales in U. K. and in U. S. The book was also criticized for it’s sex scenes. On the other hand, it was also obvious that it was a different kind of novel than the other written at that time. While most of the novels were writing about women having nervous breakdowns over the married men, Jackie felt there was a need to balance the war between sexes by introducing strong and aggressive women characters.

The novels "The Stud" and "The Bitch" came next. They caused even more shock… In contrast to the public fascination with Jackie’s fame and excessive lifestyle of her characters, Jackie’s own life was organized and disciplined. She kept a strict every-day schedule of rising at 7 .a.m., preparing breakfast for her husband and her children, reading newspapers. She started her writing around 9:15 a.m., and hardly made a pause for lunch, continuing her writing until 6:30 p.m. Most of her nights were reserved for her family.

After the publication of "Lovers and Gamblers", Jackie and Oscar decided to move to California. According to Jackie, the decision came spontaneously: the family just packed up and went there. For three months, they lived in the Beverly Hills Hotel. It gave Jackie time to make her research. The new book "Hollywood Wives" made her internationally famous. While everyone kept guessing about the true identities of her characters, Jackie Collins did not seem surprised with this interest. Even though fictional, her characters were so true-to-life, that it seemed that everyone was talking about Hollywood Wives. When asked about how she researched her books to have achieved such authenticity, Jackie said: "Very, very carefully. I get invited to a lot of parties, and the fun for me is to arrive, grab a ringside seat, sit back and observe. People-watching is a fascinating occupation."

Soon, "Hollywood Wives" was adopted for mini-series. Her tenth book "Lucky" became another winning title. "Embarrassing to pick up and impossible to put down," wrote "The Wall Street Journal." When asked about particular formula of her success, Jackie said:

"I write about people who are living very glamorous lives, eventually. But I also write about people who don’t have anything and want to get there. And, maybe, I write about the desire for success and power quite a lot, but the characters are different."

and

"I like writing strong women. They take initiative. They want independence and a lot out of life… They’re very positive women."

Her books are controversial in the reactions they cause. Jackie Collins stays in the list of the best-selling novelists. Although she used to be called "Someone Who Writes Blueprints for Mini-series," and "Queen of Flash and Trash", she has also earned the respect for her strong imagination, strong plots, and a very good understanding of what people want to read.

Jackie Collins – her life style

"I don’t spend my husband’s money. I spend my own. I don’t worry what I’m going to wear to a party. I haven’t worn a dress in years. A Hollywood wife would never be caught in my shoes."
– Jackie Collins

In contradiction to the turbulent lives of her characters, she had shared her life with the same man, Oscar Lerman, and with her three children, Tracy, Tiffany and Rory. In 1992, Oscar Lerman died of cancer.

With all her success and money, Jackie is not a kind of person who lives to impress. She has worked out, what she calls "a successful pattern", and she sticks to it in her writing, her sense of style, and her own life style.

She writes with few corrections, and it takes her usually a year to complete a novel. "I just write. I don’t keep notes. I begin with a title. Then with a name. Distinctive names of characters are very important. I love it. I make up the story as I go along. Agony for me isn’t in the writing, but in getting to the desk."

Jackie Collins considers herself a lucky person, who is never bored.

By the time of this writing, Jackie has written 28 novels, all of which have become international bestsellers. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages with more than 400 million copies sold.

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