Jackie Collins.

Jackie Collins was expelled from Francis Holland School in England at age 15 for truancy, smoking, and selling copies of her own book of dirty limericks. She was born in London on October 4, 1937, the younger sister of actress Joan Collins and the daughter of Joseph and Elsa Collins. Her father had Jewish roots from South Africa, and her mother was English with French ancestry. After leaving school, she worked at petrol stations and parked cars before pursuing acting and writing.

Jackie Collins published her first novel, The World is Full of Married Men, and later penned the blockbuster Hollywood Wives 1985, which sold millions and became a TV miniseries. She also wrote Lucky Chances 1990 and Rock Star 1999, often drawing from her experience in the entertainment industry. She acted in films and TV, appearing in Danger Man 1960, The Saint 1962, and The Stud 1978. In 2004, her 23rd book Hollywood Divorces was published. She also served as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race 2009.

Jackie Collins married Wallace Austin in 1960 and had a daughter Tracy before divorcing in 1965. She then married Oscar Lerman in 1966 and had two children, Tiffany and Rory. She was the younger sister of Joan Collins and the aunt of Tara Newley Arkle, Alexander Newley, and Katyana Kass. She sent her daughters to Francis Holland School, the same school she had been expelled from. She resided in Los Angeles and was a dual British-American citizen.

Jackie Collins’ novels sold over 400 million copies in more than 40 countries, making her one of the bestselling authors of all time. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE in the 2013 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to fiction and charity. Her net worth was estimated at $147 million in 2009 by The Sunday Times Rich List. She was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles after her death from breast cancer in 2015. She is remembered for her popular novels that glamorized Hollywood excess.