TLDR: Linda Evans has said plainly that she’d never have taken the role of Krystle Carrington on Dynasty if her marriage hadn’t fallen apart first. The way it fell apart was genuinely painful, and what she did afterward says a lot about her.
Linda Evenstad was born November 18, 1942, in Hartford, Connecticut, and found her first real television success in the 1960s playing Audra Barkley on the Western series The Big Valley, opposite Barbara Stanwyck.
She married actor and director John Derek on the set of a later project in 1968, despite a considerable age gap between them.
Her Husband Fell for a Teenager, on Christmas
In 1973, Derek traveled to Greece to direct a film featuring Mary Cathleen Collins, a 16-year-old he nicknamed “Bo.” Evans has said Derek told her he’d fallen in love with the teenager on Christmas Day that year, a devastating blow after five years of marriage.
The couple reportedly stayed in Europe until Collins turned 18 before the relationship became public in the United States.
Evans has called that period of her life a genuine nightmare, and it directly reshaped her career. “I would never have been able to do Dynasty if I had stayed married,” she told Page Six, explaining that Derek had only wanted her working on projects with him.
Devastated and eager for a distraction, she asked her agent to find her anything available. Dynasty called soon after.
She Somehow Ended Up Friends With Both of Them Anyway
Rather than staying estranged, Evans made a real effort to stay close to Derek after the divorce, and eventually built a genuine friendship with Bo Derek as well, whom she’s called “a lovely woman.”
She remains close friends with her former stepdaughter, television writer Sean Catherine Derek, and Bo Derek is reportedly still a frequent houseguest at her home. John Derek and Bo Derek stayed married until his death in 1998.
Dynasty Became the Role of a Lifetime, for Real Reasons
Evans played Krystle Carrington opposite John Forsythe and Joan Collins from 1981 to 1989, winning a Golden Globe and the first of five People’s Choice Awards in 1982, along with an Emmy nomination.
The role made her one of the defining faces of 1980s television at exactly the moment her personal life needed the reinvention.
She Left Hollywood’s Center Behind for a Musician and a Lake House
As Dynasty wound down, Evans began a relationship with Greek musician Yanni in 1989, moving with him from Los Angeles to Tacoma, Washington, and stepping back from the industry’s center of gravity. She produced concerts and television specials for him during their relationship, which lasted until 1998.
She’s described that period as a genuine inward turn. “I went inward instead of going out and working,” she said of her spiritual life during those years, crediting the financial security her career had given her for making that possible.
Her Life Since Has Had Real Ups and Downs
Evans became involved with J.Z. Knight’s Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment in the mid-1980s, a controversial metaphysical organization, eventually relocating to Yelm, Washington, to be closer to it. In 2014, she was arrested for driving under the influence of a prescription medication.
She reunited with Dynasty castmates in 1992 for two specials, The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw and Dynasty: The Reunion, and has continued acting occasionally since, with credits returning as recently as 2020.
You can read more about the rest of the Dynasty cast in our full guide to the show.
Linda Evans, Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Linda Evans’s first marriage end?
Her husband, John Derek, left her in 1973 after falling in love with a 16-year-old he met while directing a film in Greece, who later became known as Bo Derek.
Is Linda Evans still friends with Bo Derek?
Yes, despite the circumstances of her divorce from John Derek, Evans has said she’s remained genuinely close with Bo Derek over the years.
Who did Linda Evans date after Dynasty?
She was in a long-term relationship with Greek musician Yanni from 1989 to 1998, moving with him to Tacoma, Washington, during that time.
