Linda Evans

Linda Evans, born Linda Evenstad on November 18, 1942, in Hartford, Connecticut, is an American actress whose career spans television, film, and stage. Her parents, Arlene and Alba Evenstad, were both professional dancers. The family surname derived from a small farm called Evenstad in Nes, Hedmark, Norway, from which her paternal great-grandmother emigrated to the United States in 1884 with her young son, Evans' grandfather. When Evans was six months old, the family relocated from Hartford to North Hollywood. She attended Hollywood High School, where her classmates included future actress Carole Wells, and she took drama classes as a means of overcoming shyness. Upon beginning her professional career, she adopted the surname Evans.

Her first professional television appearance came in 1960 on an episode of Bachelor Father, a series starring John Forsythe. She made multiple guest appearances on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet between 1960 and 1962, as well as on The Lieutenant and Wagon Train. In 1965, Evans secured her first regular series role, playing Audra Barkley, daughter of Victoria Barkley, portrayed by Barbara Stanwyck, in the Western series The Big Valley. She remained credited on the show through its conclusion in 1969, though she functioned as a semiregular during its final two seasons. During this period she also briefly dated Big Valley castmate Lee Majors.

Throughout the 1970s, Evans appeared in guest roles across numerous television detective series, including The Rockford Files, Mannix, Harry O, Banacek, McCloud, and McMillan and Wife. In 1977, she starred alongside James Franciscus and Ralph Bellamy in the espionage drama Hunter, which ran for thirteen episodes. Her film work during this period included a 1979 thriller, Avalanche Express, with Lee Marvin and Robert Shaw, and the 1980 Western Tom Horn, one of Steve McQueen's final films.

Evans' most prominent role came when she was cast as Krystle Carrington in Aaron Spelling's primetime soap opera Dynasty, which premiered on ABC in January 1981. The series reunited her with John Forsythe, her Bachelor Father costar from two decades earlier, who played millionaire oil tycoon Blake Carrington. After a slow start in the ratings, the show gained momentum following the addition of British actress Joan Collins as Blake's scheming ex-wife, Alexis Carrington. By the 1984–85 season, Dynasty ranked as the number one program on American television, surpassing Dallas. Evans won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series for the role in 1981 and received nominations in the same category each year from 1982 through 1985. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1983. She also received People's Choice Awards for Favorite Female Performer in a New TV Program in 1982 and for Favorite Female TV Performer in 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986, and won Soap Opera Digest Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1984 and 1985. Her character's name led to her being hired as a spokesperson for the beverage Crystal Light. Evans departed Dynasty in 1989, appearing in only six of the twenty-two episodes of the show's final season, and returned to the role in 1991 for the television miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.

Following her exit from Dynasty, Evans largely stepped back from screen acting, devoting time to fitness and operating a small chain of fitness centers. She had previously authored the Linda Evans Beauty and Exercise book in 1983. In the 1990s, she hosted infomercials for Rejuvenique, a facial muscle toning mask. She appeared in three made-for-television movies during the decade before retiring from screen acting in 1997. In 2006, Evans reunited with Dynasty castmates for the nonfiction reunion special Dynasty: Catfights and Caviar. That same year, she appeared on Broadway in the stage play Legends alongside her former Dynasty rival Joan Collins. In 2009, she competed in and won the British television program Hell's Kitchen, working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White. In 2021, she returned to acting in the film Swan Song.

On December 31, 1967, Evans operated one of director John Derek's cameras to film Evel Knievel's motorcycle jump over the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, capturing footage of Knievel's crash when the jump failed. Derek had been commissioned by Knievel to document the attempt. Evans and Derek had begun dating in 1965 and married in 1968. They separated on Christmas Day 1973 after Derek disclosed his relationship with Mary Cathleen Collins, who later became known as Bo Derek following her marriage to John Derek. Evans' second marriage, to realtor and property executive Stan Herman, lasted from 1975 to 1979. She subsequently lived with restaurant owner George Santo Pietro from 1980 to 1984 and began a relationship with musician Yanni in 1989, which continued until 1998.

After a diagnosis of idiopathic edema, Evans pursued alternative healing approaches, including Eastern philosophy and naturopathy. In 1985, she became involved with metaphysical teacher J. Z. Knight and Ramtha's School of Enlightenment and eventually moved to Rainier, Washington to be near Knight's school. She resides on a 70-acre estate shared with her sister, nephew, and ex-stepdaughter. Her ex-stepdaughter, television writer Sean Catherine Derek, is her best friend. Evans holds a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.