Joan Collins’ Secrets to Staying Young at 91 — Plus, Why She Doesn’t Get Plastic Surgery

On a trip to France’s Côte d’Azur this summer, Dame Joan Collins went boating, caught up with some longtime friends and posed for Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.
The former Dynasty vixen, who turned 91 in May, still has more energy than many women decades younger. “I refuse to be defined by a number, by an age,” Joan says.“I think that’s terribly old-fashioned and not relevant in today’s world.”

Staying active has always been Joan’s fountain of youth. She recently toured England with her one-woman show, Joan Collins Unscripted, and now she’s gearing up to play Wallis Simpson, the late Duchess of Windsor, in a film. “A question I’m often asked is, ‘Why are you still working?’ ” Joan says. “It’s such a fatuous thing to say. I keep on working because I love being busy.”

To look and feel her best, Joan follows some common sense guidelines. The first is no plastic surgery or injectables. Instead, she maintains her skin with sunscreen, moisturizers and facials. “Had Botox once, years ago,” she says. “Hated it!”

Before an event, the star, who was voted the “Most Beautiful Girl in the World” in 1958, tries to get a good night’s sleep. If necessary, she uses an old trick to de-puff her under eye area. “She soaks cotton pads in a bowl of ice, then lies down and places them over her eyes for a few minutes,” her longtime makeup artist Alyn Waterman confides. The star never leaves home without foundation and lipstick. She also favors smokey eye makeup and a dusting of silver eye shadow in the middle of her eyelids to provide a visual lift.

Joan also doesn’t believe in dieting. “I don’t deprive myself — I eat chocolates, cookies and nuts,” she says, adding that she pays careful attention to portion size. “You need half the food at 50 that you ate at 25. Half as much again at 75,” she says. Her trick for slimming down for a special event is to load up on protein and fiber. “Eat boiled eggs and broccoli for three days,” Joan advises. “If you must snack, more broccoli.”

And while Joan admits that she “hates” to exercise, she makes herself move. “I’ve been working out with a physiotherapist, which I highly recommend for older men and women who want to stay fit,” she says. “Half an hour a day is mostly what I do, and I’ve found that it gives me energy.”

Joan Collins Is Surrounded By Love

A lot of remaining vibrant at any age comes down to attitude. Joan likes to be around positive people, like her husband of 22 years, Percy Gibson. “There are two kinds of human beings,” she says. “There are drains and there are heaters. Some people drain you and some people warm you. If people become too much of a drain, I say, ‘That’s it. Time to say goodbye.’”

Staying busy, engaging with others and having something to look forward to make life worth living. “I try to live each day to the utmost with passion,” Joan says. “I want every day to be a mini lifetime in which I achieve something and enjoy something.”