Subhi Agrawal
Joan Collins was often compared to Elizabeth Taylor during her early Hollywood career. The two actresses, born just over a year apart, were both stunning and talented brunettes from London. They also shared a notable connection: Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr.
“I Was A Bit Of A Punching Bag”
Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr. was Taylor’s abusive first husband, known for kicking her in the stomach, which led to a miscarriage. Collins, 91, appears in the first episode of the new three-part BBC documentary series Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar, which explores Taylor’s tumultuous relationship with Hilton.
When asked if she ever dated Hilton, the former Dynasty star replied: “I did. He was nuts. It was quite volatile. Once we were lying in bed, and he took out this gun from the side table and shot it to the ceiling. Nicky Hilton had a problem with being too good-looking and too rich, and I don’t think he got a lot of love from his father.”
Taylor and Hilton married in 1950 when she was just 18, but their happiness was short-lived. “I was a bit of a punching bag,” Taylor says in a voiceover in episode 1. “And that’s when the reality of the world hit me. The reality that I was not an adult, and I had to really grow up fast.”
Early in the first episode, Collins mentions that she admired Taylor, even though they were “teenagers at the same time.” She recalls: “My friends and I, we all wanted to look like her. We all did big eyebrows like her. But I know that she had a difficult time.”
Collins and Taylor: From Rivals to Allies
Despite being rival actresses in Hollywood, Collins and Taylor eventually became friends and shared several famous acquaintances, including actor George Hamilton, who features in the new documentary series. They also starred alongside Debbie Reynolds and Shirley MacLaine in the 2001 TV movie These Old Broads.
After divorcing Hilton in 1951, Taylor went on to marry seven more times, including twice to the esteemed British actor Richard Burton, whom she met on the set of the 1963 film Cleopatra. Both of their marriages ultimately ended in divorce.
Collins, who notably dated Warren Beatty in the late 1950s before his rise to stardom, has been married to her fifth husband, Percy Gibson, since 2002.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings