While Linda Evans doesn’t have children of her own, she has been instrumental and pivotal in the lives of some people related to her ex-spouse. Despite her good heart and intentions, life has not been a bed of roses for her. The “Dynasty” star has dealt with suffering in several ways but remained strong and overcome most of her challenges. Here’s a glimpse into her interesting life.
How Did Linda End up Becoming an Actor?
On November 18, 1942, Linda Evenstad was born to professional dancer parents in Hartford, Connecticut. The future star, born the second of three daughters. At six months old, her family relocated to Hollywood.
Growing up, she was quite shy, and to help overcome it, she was pushed to take drama classes at 14. When she turned 15, Linda accompanied a friend who was auditioning for a television commercial and ended up getting the part herself.
Linda Evans poses for a modeling shot in a picture taken on January 1, 1960 | Source: Getty Images
Shortly afterward, she got her first guest-starring role in a 1960’s episode of “Bachelor Father.” Five years later and with a handful of movies under her belt, she appeared in “Wagon Train.” From 1965 to 1969, she starred in over 100 episodes of “The Big Valley.”
Linda’s career was booming and she went on to star in a 1973 episode of “McCloud.” In the 1970s, she had over 12 roles in various movies and series. By the end of that decade, the actress was on a roll and achieved more success in the 1980s.
On August 20, 1987, she was inducted with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Here is when the actress left Hollywood.
Linda Quits Hollywood
When “Dynasty” concluded in 1989, Linda decided there was more to her life than Hollywood. In a 2006 Larry King interview, the actress confessed to “sort of” leaving Hollywood then.
Linda Evans during a US Open Tennis Match at Flushing Meadows, Queens in Forest Hills, New York, on September 9, 1989 | Source: Getty Images
The star revealed to Larry that she moved to the Pacific Northwest, in Lakewood, where she began a journey of self-discovery. She attended a school for enlightenment and bought a villa on the lake in Washington State.
About her spiritual journey, Linda said, “I went inward instead of going out and working.” She noted how having a lot of money helped her survive that period. The celebrity credited the late Aaron Spelling, the “Dynasty” producer, for the wonderful life she has.
The actress noted how she doesn’t have to work because of Aaron. Before leaving Hollywood, Linda married twice, but the marriages didn’t last forever.
Linda’s First Marriage
Linda first married fellow actor John Derek in 1968. By 1973, the couple had separated, and two years later they divorced without having children. After their separation, John revealed his affair with Bo Derek, who later became his fourth wife.
John Derek and Linda Evans at the Emmy Awards in May 1968 | Source: Getty Images
The star and author, who met John on “The Big Valley,” shared that her husband broke up with her nine years after they met because he fell in love with Bo. Speaking about being in love, the actress once told Larry that she preferred “relationship[s] over working.”
When Linda became an author, she had many things to say in her book. She revealed that if her marriage to John hadn’t ended, she wouldn’t have starred in “Dynasty.” The star explained her statement, saying her first husband only wanted her to work with him.
So, if she only did projects with him, she wouldn’t have appeared in “Dynasty” because he wasn’t in it. She recalled calling her agent after her divorce and telling him she wanted to work again. The agent was concerned about her pulling it off since she’d been away for so long and everyone had forgotten about her.
Yet, the actress was confident in her abilities and said she “just got to do it.” Linda later described her divorce from her husband as “totally” devastating. She recalled thinking that she should die instead of going through their breakup.
Linda Evans gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame while accompanied by John Forsythe on August 21, 1987 | Source: Getty Images
Being in love with him was perfection for her, and when Linda was a teenager she told her sister that she’d marry him, which she did. The celebrity had seen her marriage to John as a “God-given gift” and didn’t believe at that time that it was supposed to end like that.
The experience was horrible and one of the hardest things she’s ever experienced. Yet, she learned that sometimes what seems like the worst thing to happen to you is the best thing, and that rang true for her life.
Leaving John got her back into work, and she saw “all the magic” that “Dynasty” brought. She described it as “one of the most beautiful things” anyone could ever hope to experience. Linda was John’s third wife, and his first was Pati Behrs.
Sean, John’s daughter with Pati, only had good things to say about her former stepmother. She revealed that she and her brother didn’t know the late actor before the actress married him. While she didn’t have children with John, she took responsibility for his kids.
Linda Evans arriving at Sydney Airport with Sean Derek on May 5, 1986 | Source: Getty Images
Sean said her stepmother introduced her and her sibling to their father and helped them have a relationship. When her brother became a quadriplegic, Linda’s support was something out of a “Dynasty” script.
Linda’s former stepdaughter noted how the celebrity believes in and tries doing the right or good thing. She and Sean were still close in 1985, but at that point, John’s daughter hadn’t seen him for six years.
John was an actor and also worked as a director. He was born on August 12, 1926, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, and some of his credits include 1956’s “The Ten Commandments,” 1984’s “Bolero,” and 1989’s “Ghosts Can’t Do It.” On May 22, 1998, he passed away at 71 in Santa Maria, California. She remarried not long after divorcing.
The Actress’ Second Husband
While Linda’s first marriage didn’t work out, that didn’t deter her from tying the knot again. In 1975, Linda married Stan Herman, but their marriage lasted less than five years. It was after her marriage to the Los Angeles real estate broker that she found her way to “Dynasty.”
Linda Evans at a private party in a club in Oroville, California, in March 1974 | Source: Getty Images
By then, she was nearly 30, married twice, and questioning what she was doing. She remembered thinking she might end up like Elizabeth Taylor, famous for her eight marriages. Linda urged herself to abandon the notion that a man could be her dream and to seek another dream instead. That’s when she called her agent.
Speaking to Harvey Brownstone in 2023, the actress admitted that all her life she’d wanted to be a wife and mother before choosing a career. Besides having failed marriages, the star also struggled with other challenges.
Linda and Her Family’s Trials against Various Medical Conditions
In an interview, Linda confessed that from 2006 she went through some of her toughest times. The people she loves went through challenges. Her two sisters and a close friend were diagnosed with serious health issues.
Feeling powerless to help them, she became depressed for the first time and had to take blood pressure pills. But she didn’t like how they made her feel, so she stopped. One day she was outside and blacked out. When she woke up, she was face down in the gravel.
Linda Evans and Joan Collins at their premiere performance in “Legends” on January 16, 2007, in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images
The star was confused because her face was bloody, and that’s when she realized she needed help to pull herself out of depression. Speaking about that time, she recalled falling apart in a big way and having to fight to get back to the way she was.
On June 5, 2020, Linda uploaded an Instagram post of her walking with her dog for Hope Walk Week. In the caption, she revealed that her parents and two sisters all got cancer. She said she knew how the disease creates enduring pain and unspeakable challenges.
Yet, she also knew the sweetness brought by love and kindness when one isn’t alone. While she lost three of her loved ones to the disease, she revealed that her younger sister was still fighting. The celebrity was walking for her sibling and everyone affected by the illness.
Sadly, a day after 2022’s Valentine’s Day, Linda mourned the death of her younger sister, Charlie Davidson, who lost her battle with cancer that year. Alongside a picture of Charlie posing with a lit birthday cake, Linda wrote, “My beloved sister Charlie, forever in my heart.”
Linda Evans during the Late Night Shopping event on August 2, 2019, in Soltau, Germany | Source: Getty Images
The Actress’ Struggles with Back Pain
Six years after dealing with depression, Linda suffered another blow. She experienced a slipped disc that left her in physical pain. Sadly, her depression also returned for two years. The star confessed that the “pain was so bad.”
The ailment was enough to have her consider suicide. Speaking about that time, Linda said she now understood why people would say being alive was painful. Unfortunately, no one had a solution to her problem. She was on cortisone treatments that even caused her to lose her hair.
In 2016, she was wearing a wig because her hair fell out but two years before she faced the law. At 74 in May 2014, the actress was pulled over in her Washington home state for driving erratically. After getting blood tests, her ticket was filed as driving under the influence (DUI).
The incident report saw her drifting from lane to lane and onto oncoming traffic. When doing a field sobriety test, her movements were described as “slow and lethargic.” She also showed “sluggish behavior” and couldn’t stand without falling over.
Linda noted how anyone who saw the video of that fateful day could see she was physically in pain, but it was misinterpreted. Her blood tests allegedly only picked up a “remnant of a prescribed sleeping pill” that Linda had taken the previous night.
Linda admitted to suffering from chronic pain due to a slipped disc. She found that arrest pivotal as it made her wish to have made a better choice. The celebrity was driving to water therapy when she was caught and realized she should’ve stayed home while feeling weak from the pain.
The Actress’ Hollywood Reappearance
After spending time being passed up for scripts, Linda fell in love with the one for “Swan Song” and made her reappearance in Hollywood. Months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down things, she flew to Sandusky, Ohio, to shoot her first film since she stopped acting.
The then-78-year-old said she was nervous because she hadn’t acted in a long time. Linda recalled that the last time she had acted, she had a hair and makeup team that went with her everywhere. But, what made her Ohio trip exciting was that she was doing it all by herself.
Linda once revealed that she didn’t miss or yearn for the Hollywood life. The celebrity noted what a “beautiful experience” it was, that she loved it, but thanked God that she could do whatever she wanted.
Linda Evans during the Late Night Shopping event on August 2, 2019, in Soltau, Germany | Source: Getty Images
In January 2016, she also made more moves by releasing her book, “Recipes for Life: My Memories.” The book was described as a memoir, autobiography, and cookbook. Here’s more information on where she currently lives.
Linda’s Homes and Where She Lives Now
Although she downsized to Lakewood, Linda still has a Beverly Hills house which Dolly Parton used for eight years. The old villa in the Great Northwest was built in 1903 and boasted 12,000 square feet, which was a bit big for the celebrity.
Her new home, further downsized, is the complete opposite of fancy. After selling the villa, she bought an estate close to Olympia that boasts 70 acres. Linda said she wanted something “cozy and lovely.” It had two bedrooms, but she built a cottage for guests.
The renovation project, which was both a joy and a nightmare, took several years for her to complete. She also built a heat-controlled storage unit to keep her “Dynasty” clothes. Talking about the storage unit, she confessed that it is overwhelming and she never goes in it.
Outside her home, with a large garden, is a family of deer fenced off on the property. It has a country French look which Linda describes as tiny but charming. She is content with it because it’s big enough for her and her three felines.
In a 2010 Oprah Winfrey interview, the star showed off her home. She gave fans a look at the river that ran through the property. She explained it was a one-bedroom which she used for getting away.
But then she wondered why she didn’t move there and she did. The actress said she gained 25 pounds two years after moving. This is because of how much fun she had staying out late, eating, drinking, and doing things she couldn’t do before.
Another thing she loves about her home is that some of her family members are buried on the land. Speaking about her life, Linda Evans said she replaced her husbands with her career. However, she still felt like she needed to please someone or need something.
The actress explained that she relocated because she was looking for something and who she is. She wanted an inner journey because she felt there had to be more to life despite it not being a popular thing to do in Hollywood.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
