By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-15 16:01:56 | Updated at 2024-11-22 09:40:35
6 days ago
She was a big '80s TV star who worked with Heather Locklear and Joan Collins in a glossy series.
But before that she was blonde bombshell pinup.
In this image below she wore a swimsuit to promote one of her TV shows from the 1960s.
The series was a Western which starred Lee Majors who would go on to star in the Six Million Dollar Man and wed Farrah Fawcett.
Who is she?
She was a big '80s TV star who worked with Heather Locklear and Joan Collins in a glossy series. But before that she was blonde bombshell pinup. Who is she?
She is Linda Evans.
The bikini image was a promo shot in 1965 for The Big Valley which starred Majors as well as classic icon Barbara Stanwyck.
Linda was the star of nighttime television soap opera Dynasty which aired from 1981 until 1989.
The now 81-year-old Hollywood actress played the innocent blonde beauty Krystle Carrington who was wed to dashing millionaire Blake Carrington, played by John Forsythe.
But the sweet lamb had to battle her husband's evil ex-wife Alexis Carrington, played by Joan Collins.
That led to catfights and very high ratings.
These days Linda - who was wed to Bo Derek's ex John Derek - is retired and thriving in Washington.
But she often posts glamorous photos to her Instagram page of an herself proving she is still a knockout.
She is Linda Evans. The bikini image was a promo shot in 1965 for The Big Valley which starred Majors as well as classic icon Barbara Stanwyck. Seen in 1984
Here Evans is seen on the set of the Western show The Big Valley. She played stunning Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck)
Seen here with the cast which included Joan Collins and Heather Locklear
Evans' first guest-starring role was on a 1960 episode of Bachelor Father.
The series starred John Forsythe, with whom she would costar 20 years later on Dynasty.
After several guest roles in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet between 1960 and 1962, and guest appearances on television series such as The Lieutenant and Wagon Train, Evans gained her first regular role in 1965 in The Big Valley.
She played stunning Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck).
She then appeared on The Rockford Files with James Garner, Mannix, Harry O with David Janssen, Banacek with George Peppard, McCloud with Dennis Weaver, and McMillan & Wife with Rock Hudson.
In 1977, she starred with James Franciscus and Ralph Bellamy in the series Hunter.
Next it was the 1979 thriller, Avalanche Express, and in 1980, she co-starred with Steve McQueen in Tom Horn.
Linda in her bathing suit with John on Dynasty
Then came Dynasty, which in January 1981.
When Collins was added to the cast as the villain ex-wife of Blake, ratings went up.
Evans left Dynasty in 1989, four months before the series came to an end.
In 1991, Evans returned to the role of Krystle for the television miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.
Then she was in three made-for-TV movies in the 1990s, but then retired.
In 2009, Evans appeared in and won the British TV program Hell's Kitchen. In 2021 Evans popped up in the movie Swan Song.
When she turned 80, she talked about aging.
'The number is high, but I see my age as an adventure. I'm excited to see what else is to come,' she said.
Looking back on her life, the The Big Valley star said if she could go back to her 20s, she would 'do everything differently'.
During the conversation at her home in Tacoma, Washington, she revealed the only two things she would not change.
Throwback time circa 1980s: 'When you get to be my age, you relish each decade of your life with a sense of wonder and awe for every summer that comes again,' the soap star wrote in her caption. 'The escapades and adventures may take on new meaning. But with sunshine on my shoulders and my heart wide open for change, this season is as promising as ever'
Evans at Late Night Shopping event at the Designer Outlets in Soltau, Germany in 2019
'I would buy my house here in Tacoma again and never give up the search for love,' she said. 'But despite this, I have loved every time and every challenge in my life. I've suffered a lot, but I'm proud of it.'
The soap star spoke about her quiet life in Washington.
'I only work on special projects that fill my heart with joy. That's why, in 2019, after falling in love with a script written by the filmmaker Todd Stephens, I accepted a role in his [2021] film,' she said.
She added: '[Swan Song] tells the story of an older man dying with sadness about his life but who is reborn after revisiting his past.'
Evans spoke about revisiting her own past and finding self-love. 'It's one of the lovely things about getting older. Truly loving myself has been very valuable to me — it doesn't matter how late in life it happened.'
The star dated Greek composer Yanni for almost a decade from 1989 to 1998; seen in 1991
The actress has been married twice in her life.
Her first marriage was with the late multitalented actor and director John Derek from 1968 to 1974.
A year later, she married Sexual Intent actor Stan Herman until their subsequent divorce in 1979.
The Connecticut star has no children and lives a peaceful life by herself.
Her last publicly known relationship started in 1989.
She dated Greek composer Yanni in for almost a decade, but the couple ultimately called it quits in 1998.
In 2014, he told Oprah: 'Linda is one of the most amazing human beings I've ever met in my life.'
The blonde beauty shared a throwback photo and wrote an insightful caption on getting older: 'When you get to be my age, you relish each decade of your life with a sense of wonder and awe for every summer that comes again. The escapades and adventures may take on new meaning.'
