Dame Joan Collins Says She’s ‘Thrilled About the Challenge’ of Playing Wallis Simpson in Upcoming Biopic: ‘Iconic Woman’

Mar. 15, 2025

Joan Collins attends the “Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins' Story” U.K. Premiere at The Curzon Mayfair on July 1, 2021 in London, England and The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, at her greenhouse in Bois de Boulogne near Paris, France 1974.Photo:Stuart C. Wilson/Getty; Wolfgang Kuhn/United Archives via Getty

Stuart C. Wilson/Getty; Wolfgang Kuhn/United Archives via Getty

Joan Collins, a longtime supporter of the British monarchy, will playWallis Simpsonin an upcoming biopic.

Collins, 91, will take on the role of Simpson, an American divorcee whoKing Edward VIIIchose over the monarchy, abdicating the throne in 1936 and ultimately marrying her the next year. The two were married from 1937 until the end of Edward’s life in 1972; Simpson died in 1986 at age 89.

Portrait of Wallis Simpson, 1936.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

According toThe Guardian, Collins will play Simpson in her last days in a film currently titledThe Bitter End(and previously known asIn Bed with the Duchess, perhaps a nod to Simpson’s Duchess of Windsor title after her marriage to Edward, who became Duke of Windsor after his abdication).

“I am thrilled about the challenge of playing this iconic woman in a previously untold story,” Collins said.

Joan Collins attends the 2024 Netflix Primetime Emmys after party on Jan. 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Natasha Campos/Getty

Natasha Campos/Getty

The 1936 decision for King Edward VIII to marry the twice-divorced Simpson triggered a constitutional crisis; after less than a year as King, Edward abdicated on Dec. 10, 1936, leaving the throne to his younger brother, who becameKing George VI(and who was the futureQueen Elizabeth’s father andKing Charles’ grandfather).

Mrs Wallis Spencer, 22, the wife of Lieutenant E. Wingfield Spencer. Mrs Spencer later became Mrs Simpson, the woman who married King Edward VIII of England thus occasioning his abdication from the British throne.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Collins said in a 2023 interview that the script forThe Bitter Endhad been written for her specifically, tellingThe Guardian, “It’s the true story of the last years of the Duchess of Windsor after the Duke dies.”

Joan Collins attends the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards at The Londoner Hotel on April 28, 2024 in London, England.Neil Mockford/Getty

Neil Mockford/Getty

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Collins, whoThe Guardiancalled “a vocal supporter of the British monarchy,” was made a dame in 2015.

source: people.com