Alexis Carrington Colby (maiden name Morell; formerly Dexter and Rowan) is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. She is the ex-wife of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) whose schemes cause one problem after another for him and their children.
The role was originated by Joan Collins in the first episode of the show's second season in 1981, though the character appeared briefly in the first season finale, non-speaking and face unseen. Collins remained on the show until the finale in 1989, and then returned as Alexis for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion. The character appeared later in the first season of the 2017 Dynasty reboot series, portrayed by Nicollette Sheridan from the sixteenth episode of the first season to the fifteenth episode of the second season. Stand-in Amy Sutherland played a bandaged, non-speaking Alexis in the sixteenth and seventeenth episodes of the second season. Elizabeth Gillies, who stars as Alexis's daughter Fallon, played the role of Alexis after Sheridan's departure for three episodes near the end of the second season. The role was recast with Elaine Hendrix for season three.
Alexis' schemes to destroy ex-husband Blake, undermine his marriage to Krystle (Linda Evans), and control her children drive much of the action over the series' run. Passionate yet vengeful, Alexis loves her children fiercely and will do anything to protect them, but she often ignores their own needs and desires in place of what she thinks is best. Alexis marries three additional times, to Cecil Colby (Lloyd Bochner), Dex Dexter (Michael Nader), and Sean Rowan (James Healey). She is widowed twice, first by Cecil and then by fourth husband Sean, prompting Alexis' cousin Sable to remark that with Alexis "death is always a simpler solution than divorce." Her third marriage (to Dex) ends in divorce after Alexis catches him in bed with her adult daughter Amanda (Catherine Oxenberg). The name Alexis uses the most consistently over the course of the series is Alexis Colby, though her marriage to Cecil Colby is her shortest. Alexis is romantically linked to a number of men over the years, including oilman Rashid Ahmed (John Saxon); tennis pro (and Krystle's first husband) Mark Jennings (Geoffrey Scott); King Galen of Moldavia (Joel Fabiani); shipping tycoon Zach Powers (Ricardo Montalbán); Congressman Neal McVane (Paul Burke); Blake's brother Ben Carrington (Christopher Cazenove); Dirk Maurier (Jon Cypher) and his nephew Gavin Maurier (Neil Dickson); Cecil's brother Jason Colby (Charlton Heston); and even a near-reconciliation with an amnesiac Blake.
TV Guide named Alexis #7 in their 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time", and in 2016 Rolling Stone ranked her #27 of their "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time". In 2015, executive producer Lee Daniels noted that Taraji P. Henson's character Cookie Lyon in his TV series Empire was partially based on Alexis.
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