Joan Collins Talks About Having an Abortion at 26 and Recalls Warren Beatty's 'Terrible' Reaction to Her Pregnancy

Jordan Greene
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The actress, 90, was engaged to actor Warren Beatty at the time

<p>Pablo Cuadra/WireImage</p> Joan Collins attends

Pablo Cuadra/WireImage

Joan Collins attends 'Glow & Darkness' photocall at The Westin Palace hotel on October 26, 2020 in Madrid, Spain

Joan Collins is opening up about her personal life in her new autobiography Behind the Shoulder Pads, including getting an abortion at age 26.

In the book, Collins, 90, writes about telling her fiancé at the time, actor Warren Beatty, she was pregnant. Beatty and Collins began dating in 1959. A year later the two got engaged — however, they never ended up getting married.

In a recent interview with The Guardian for her book launch, Collins recalls Beatty responding with how "terrible" her pregnancy news was. She says Beatty, now 86, told her she needed to get an abortion to protect both of their careers.

<p>Ki Price/WireImage</p> Joan Collins attends the dinner for A Rabbit's Foot presents "Power of Film" in association with Giorgio Armani at Isabel's on February 28, 2023 in London, England

Ki Price/WireImage

Joan Collins attends the dinner for A Rabbit's Foot presents "Power of Film" in association with Giorgio Armani at Isabel's on February 28, 2023 in London, England

Related: Joan Collins Recalls Marrying Ex-Husband Maxwell Reed After He Allegedly Raped Her

Collins told The Guardian that looking back on it now, she agrees with Beatty that a pregnancy would have derailed her Hollywood success.

Plus, she adds, she wouldn't have gone on to have two children, Tara and Alexander, with her second husband, actor and singer-songwriter Anthony Newley, and another child, Katyana, with her third husband, businessman Ron Kass.

<p>Lorne Thomson/Redferns</p> Dame Joan Collins poses for photographers at Kite Festival 2023 at Kirtlington Park on June 10, 2023 in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

Lorne Thomson/Redferns

Dame Joan Collins poses for photographers at Kite Festival 2023 at Kirtlington Park on June 10, 2023 in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

In the 2022 documentary, This Is Joan Collins, Collins said, "Motherhood was really exciting and I love every minute of it."

Collins had previously told Hello! magazine that seeing her children happy is "what makes me happiest." Her eldest child Tara described Collins as "an incredibly supportive, loving mother and friend" in a 2020 interview with The Sunday Times.

"When you get down to it, she's not very different to most mums," she told the outlet. "She just happens to be Joan Collins, a total legend."

Related: Joan Collins Reveals Her Surprising Shopping Habits: ‘I Love Target’

Collins is best known for her her role in the 1980s soap opera Dynasty. In addition to her more than 70 film roles and many TV appearances, she also has performed on Broadway and the West End and toured with various theater productions.

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