Joan Collins' 'Sibling Rivalry' With Famous Sister Jackie Didn't Take Away From Their Deep Bond

Anna DensonSat, August 29, 2026 at 10:00 PM UTC

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Family dynamics can be sticky to navigate at the best of times, and that pressure only mounts for families living in the public eye — something known all too well by "Dynasty" star Joan Collins and her famed sibling, prolific romance writer Jackie Collins. Joan and Jackie were never the only celebrities with gorgeous sisters, but their dual fame made them particularly popular targets for tabloid speculation. (Not to mention their larger-than-life personalities — even at age 93, Joan Collins can still be spotted prowling in zebra-print resortwear.)

For years, the media turned a critical eye toward the Collins' sibling relationship, hinting at a potential feud and questioning how each woman jealously guarded her professional territory as author or actor. However, the sisters viewed their bond in a very different light. Joan discussed the complicated yet devoted nature of their relationship in her 2023 autobiography, "Behind the Shoulder Pads: Tales I Tell My Friends," sharing an excerpt with People. "Although the press and gossipmongers have ruminated about the relationship between my sister Jackie and myself, I like to think it was simply normal 'sibling rivalry,'" Joan wrote. But the media loves a whiff of drama, so time and again, the Collins sisters were forced to defend themselves against curious press.

Read more: 9 Sweet Snaps Of Paulina Gretzky And Husband Dustin Johnson's Family

Joan and Jackie Collins had to shut down rumors about their supposed rift

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When media outlets inevitably lined up with quotes claiming that Joan and Jackie Collins were stepping on each other's toes, the sisters were always quick to set the record straight. "It's nonsense," Jackie told Vanity Fair in 1988. "We're very amicable together ... We're not in each other's pockets, but we're good friends. We're not the kind of sisters who call each other every day, but she knows I'm there for her."

"I don't have a rivalry with my sister," Joan said in the same article. "People are always saying I have rivalries — particularly with Elizabeth Taylor and Linda Evans. I've never said a bad word about another actress, at least in print. And now they're saying I have this rivalry with Jackie. It's not true."

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On the contrary, Jackie suggested that the sisters supported each other whenever they could. In a 2002 interview with CBS, the "Lucky" writer said, "We are great friends. It's interesting that people try to make us rivals," and pointed out that she'd had her novel "The Stud" adapted for the screen just so Joan could star in it. Putting paid to suggestions of a feud, Joan and Jackie even collaborated again on a sequel film. Despite the media narrative, it seems that Joan and Jackie's creative endeavors, shared respect, and upfront personalities brought them closer rather than pushed them apart.

Jackie and Joan Collins loved each other to the end

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Jackie Collins passed away from breast cancer in 2015, but even her death hasn't stopped the inquisition around her dynamic with Joan Collins — especially since the sisters did have occasional periods of strife. They'd sometimes fall out over a disliked spouse, or attend the same party without interacting. However, Joan chalks this up to the regular pitfalls of family. "I cannot deny that, like all siblings, we had our spats of ups and downs," she wrote in her biography (via People). "Are we supposed to be endlessly devoted to each other, and never disagree or do anything that might upset the other, just because we're sisters?"

At first, Jackie didn't even tell Joan about the cancer diagnosis that would eventually take her life, which might lead some to assume serious distance or estrangement. But Joan understands why her sister hesitated to reveal her illness. "She did the right thing because she did not want pity," Joan revealed on "Piers Morgan's Life Stories" in 2021 (via RTE). Of course, this didn't make the tragic loss any easier to bear. "I miss her terribly," Joan told This Morning in 2016. "Grief is a process ... I cried for two or three months, three to four times a day."

Now in her '90s (and still stunning), Joan Collins remembers her sister fondly. "Jackie was so loved and admired by so many. ... We grieved and tried to comfort each other, but Jackie's death left a void in all our lives that was impossible to fill," Joan wrote in her book. "No one — not our friends, not our closest family — will really know everything we shared together, our bond over an entire lifetime, and the deep abiding love that always existed between us and that I still feel."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”