Her childhood was unconventional as she grew up during the Blitz period. Years later, Joan thought it would be great to do a film about growing up with her sister during this era but her dream hasn’t come to fruition.
Even so, the actress said that as the war continued, she was just a child, unaware of the bombings. She would collect fragments of debris from the streets and store them in her cigar box each evening.
She narrated, “We would draw silly pictures of Hitler. We were evacuated 10 or 12 times. We would be in the tube stations, and people would be playing their harmonicas and singing.”
Despite the chaos, Joan Collins, who deeply loved her Anglican Briton mother, realized that she did not want to live the same life her mom lived. “Mummy was the 1950s housewife, very sweet and very docile,” she explained.
The actress had previously said that her mom, who died at the age of 52, died very young because she never spoke back to her husband.
oan also shared that “My father never held back. I saw him as a figure to look up to more than my mother. I loved her to death but I considered her to be weak and I hated all the clothes she wore.”
The actress’s mother consistently wore girdles, suspenders, stockings, tight bras, underpinnings, and corsets, which Joan disliked.
Joan, who took great care in her appearance, was voted the most beautiful girl in England by a photographers’ association when she was 18. The newspapers asked her dad what he thought about her daughter’s position, he replied, “I’m amazed. She’s a nice-enough-looking girl. Nothing special.”
At this point, Joan had departed from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), developed a passion for French existentialism, admired the singer Juliette Gréco, and dreamed of becoming a celebrated stage actress.
The focus on her appearance was even more as her film career progressed. Joan disclosed that in Hollywood, she faced daily verbal abuse.
She recounted how the makeup department gave her cruel nicknames, such as “Moonface” due to her baby fat and “Scrawny Legs” because of her thin legs. She remembered the department as a large group of women who were particularly harsh and unkind to her.
In 1955, when Joan was 22, she was cast in the biopic about Evelyn Nesbit “The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing.” Evelyn was considered the most beautiful girl in New York and Joan was to play her.
So, one day, Joan who was still in the Juliette Gréco character and thus had no makeup and was in jeans with scruffy hair, ran into her director Richard Fleischer. Richard told her, “Oh my God, I cannot look at you – you are so ugly. You cannot go around like that – put some makeup on, get your hair done, get a proper dress.”
Just like her career, Joan’s personal life also had its ups and downs. When she was 17, still a virgin, the actress went on a date with actor Maxwell Reed, aged 31. He spiked her rum and coke and raped her.
“I was 17, but I was the equivalent mentally of 12. We did not have sex education,” she noted. Shockingly, Maxwell became the actress’s first husband. When asked why she chose to marry her rapist, she answered, “Because I come from a generation where if you’re going to have sex, you get married.”
However, when Joan learned that Maxwell wanted to give her to older men for $12,710 a night as long as he could watch, she stood up for herself. After four years of marriage, the two divorced.
In her 20s, Joan lived with several men, including Sydney Chaplin and Arthur Loew Jr. She also had an affair with a married man who was eight years her senior. As much as the man was handsome, witty, and fascinating, Joan said the affair was utter hell and she never engaged in one again.
Hollywood men, including directors, also went after Joan. In her autobiography, “Behind the Shoulder Pads,” the actress revealed that she was offered the role of Cleopatra in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s film on the condition that she got along well with Buddy Adler, the head of Fox, and the chairman of the board.
Joan, who was disgusted by how directors and producers, who were old men, took advantage of young actresses said no as she never wanted to be a part of that. The Cleopatra role was given to Elizabeth Taylor.
In the memoir, Joan also wrote about having an abortion when she got pregnant at 26 with her fiancé, Beatty, a 23-year-old aspiring actor. Beatty convinced Joan to abort the baby because it would derail their career. Years later, she agreed with him, noting that if he had a baby, she would have had to say goodbye to her acting career.
Joan went on to have three kids. She had her first two, Tara and Alexander with her second husband, Anthony Newley. Her last child, Katyana, is with her second husband Ron Kass.
The actress’s third husband was Peter Holm and she is now married to Percy Gibson. Joan announced that she was engaged to Percy in December 2001 and then the pair got married in 2002 at Claridge’s Hotel in London, in front of 175 guests.
The lovebirds, who have been together for over two decades, met when Joan was featured in a touring production of the play “Love Letters” in the US. The Peruvian-born theatre manager also helped Joan edit her novel “Star Quality.”
Many people talked when Joan and Percy Gibson got married because he is 32 years younger than her. Joan was asked to comment on their age difference and she said, “Well, if he dies, he dies.”
In 2023, Joan gushed about her marriage saying that she had found the right man in her current husband, “Oh yes, Percy and I have been married for 21 years and it’s just marvelous.”
Now, Joan is in her 90s but she still has the youthful charm and grace in her presence. When asked if she has had cosmetic procedures done, the actress simply said with a shrug, “If people want to think I’ve had surgery, then…”
Joan added, “You can tell [I haven’t] because I have lines and jowls. When I see women around my age I think: ‘Oh, really? My gosh, I look quite a bit…’ I think I look pretty good!”
The movie star is also needle-phobic and just couldn’t bring herself to have cosmetic work done on her. She attributes her good look, perfect complexion, and youthfulness to staying out of the sun.
She added that her mom taught her to moisturize her skin and use night cream, something she also taught her daughters. Joan’s lovely appearance still amazes her fans.
In April 2024, Joan enjoyed a fun photoshoot for the New York Times Fashion and Style section. She looked radiant in a white cardigan paired with an off-white cap and black trousers.
A fan, amazed by her look, said, “You are simply iconic, dear one, and stunning ♥️♥️.” Another admirer commented, “You always look so beautiful♥️.”
When she turned 90 in 2023, a fan shared a picture of Joan taken on the streets. The actress was in a modest flower dress styled with a white coat, a sun hat, and sunglasses. The fan captioned the post, “Happiest of birthdays to Dame Joan Collins, who turns 90 but easily looks at least 20 years younger.”
At 91, Joan Collins is content with both her personal and professional life. Retirement isn’t on her agenda, as she plans to continue working because of her passion for it.
She acknowledged that performing her one-woman show and staying in a different hotel each night was exhausting, but the enthusiastic audiences and her love for her work made it a rewarding experience.
Nature’s Perfect Predator: Inside the Incredible Eyesight of Eagles
Ever wondered how an eagle can swoop down from the sky and snatch a fish right out of the water with flawless precision? It’s not just skill — it’s next-level eyesight. Eagles are like flying cameras, equipped with ultra-high-definition vision that puts modern drone tech to shame.
These majestic birds don’t just glide through the air — they hunt with purpose. Their eyes are designed for the skies, and when you learn just how powerful their vision really is, it’s hard not to be amazed.
Eagle Vision: Better Than 20/20
Most humans consider 20/20 vision to be perfect. But eagles? They blow that out of the water.
Eagles are believed to have 20/5 vision, meaning they can see from 20 feet away what a human would only see clearly at 5 feet. That’s four times sharper than our best natural vision. This insane clarity allows them to pick up details we’d miss entirely — like a small fish flicking near the surface of a river, all from hundreds of feet in the air.
Imagine being able to spot a coin on the ground while standing on top of a 10-story building — that’s the eagle’s world.
Glare? Not a Problem for Eagles
Now, let’s talk about water. Even on a sunny day, the surface of a lake or river can be like a mirror — filled with glare and reflection. For us, it’s tough to see past it. But for eagles?
Their eyes are naturally equipped to filter out glare. They have a special structure in their retina that reduces the interference caused by reflected light, allowing them to cut through brightness and focus on movement beneath the surface. It’s like wearing polarized sunglasses — except built-in, and way more advanced.
Video : The Incredible Eyesight of Eagles: Nature’s Sharpest Vision
So while we might squint at a shiny lake, an eagle is already locked on to lunch.
Binocular Vision That Tracks Targets Mid-Air
You’ve probably heard the term “binocular vision” before — it’s what allows animals (and humans) to judge distance. Eagles have this too, but with a supercharged twist.
Their eyes face slightly forward, giving them excellent depth perception. And because they can move their heads smoothly while keeping their eyes locked on a target, they maintain laser focus even during high-speed dives. That means they can:
- Track a moving fish
- Calculate the angle of attack
- Time their dive to the millisecond
No second guesses. No hesitation. Just pure precision.
A Wide-Angle Field of View Without Losing Detail
Another wild fact? Eagles have a field of view of about 340 degrees — nearly a full circle. Yet somehow, they manage to maintain pinpoint detail in their central vision.
Their retinas are loaded with cone cells, which detect fine details and colors. This gives them a massive advantage: they can scan a huge area while simultaneously zooming in on one moving object. It’s like having both a panoramic lens and a telephoto lens active at the same time.
While you’re blinking at a blurry bird in the sky, the eagle already sees you — and probably knows what brand of hat you’re wearing.
How Eagles Use Vision to Hunt
Let’s break it down. Picture an eagle flying 300 feet above a river. It’s calm, quiet, and the water’s shimmering. Then, with almost no warning, the eagle changes course. Its wings pull in tight, and it drops like a missile.
Why? Because its eyes just caught a tiny flash beneath the surface — a fish swimming near the top.
The eagle:
- Adjusts its position mid-flight
- Times its dive perfectly
- Uses its talons to grab the fish — often without getting fully wet
This all happens in seconds. And it all begins with a flash of movement that you and I wouldn’t even notice.
Evolution Built the Ultimate Predator’s Eye
Eagles didn’t just wake up one day with superhero vision. This visual power is the result of millions of years of evolution, fine-tuned for survival.
Their eyesight helps them:
- Hunt more efficiently
- Avoid threats
- Navigate wide territories with ease
In the wild, vision is survival, and eagles have mastered that art. From open skies to dense forests, they rely on their vision more than anything else. It’s their secret weapon — and honestly, their superpower.
How Eagles Compare to Human Technology
Think your 4K drone is impressive? Eagles would laugh — if they could.
While drones rely on lenses and software to zoom and focus, eagles do it naturally and in real-time. No battery required. No GPS lag. Just pure instinct and biological design.
Their eyes offer:
- Superior motion detection
- Real-time tracking
- Optical clarity beyond anything man-made
In fact, researchers studying eagle vision have helped inspire improvements in camera lenses, tracking systems, and even augmented reality.
Why It All Matters: Nature’s Design Is Still Unmatched
Eagles remind us of something powerful — nature still does it better. We’ve created incredible tools and gadgets, but the eagle’s eye shows that evolution’s been doing high-tech for much longer.
Video : Just How Good is Eagle Vision?
Next time you see one soaring in the sky, take a moment. You’re looking at a living, breathing marvel — one that can see better, move faster, and hunt smarter than any drone or AI-powered camera.
Conclusion: Eyes on the Skies
Eagles aren’t just symbols of power — they’re visual masters of the natural world. With vision four times sharper than ours, built-in glare filters, and targeting precision that feels almost mechanical, they dominate the skies like no other.
Their eyes are their greatest weapon — and their greatest gift.
So, the next time you see an eagle circling high above, remember: it sees you… in more detail than you’ll ever see it. And that’s not magic — that’s evolution in high definition.
Think your eyes are sharp? Nature’s got you beat — try spotting a fish from 300 feet up.
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