She began her career as a child model before deciding to pursue acting on the advice of a talent agent she met through actress Ann-Margret , who was acquainted with her parents. Her other credits include the dramatic-comedy film A Change of Seasons , the American buddy comedy film Tommy Boy , and the American telenovela series Fashion House Derek has been involved in a number of philanthropic endeavors.
For several years, she served as Honorary Chairperson for Veterans Affairs ' National Rehabilitation Special Events, [ 5 ] [ 6 ] which helps disabled veterans overcome their limitations through sports and competition.
Widowed in , [ 15 ] Derek began a relationship with actor John Corbett in Collins' parents divorced, and her mother married stunt performer Bobby Bass. She grew up with two sisters and a brother. She remarked in a interview on Late Night with David Letterman :. Well, I didn't really mean to quit. Well, what happened—I'll tell you what happened I went for like a month without going to school; I went to the beach, and I got caught So, then I started going back to school, and I was really enjoying it While attending Narbonne High School at age 16 in , [ 3 ] [ 19 ] Collins auditioned for the female lead in John Derek's Once Upon a Love , a low-budget romantic drama film set in Greece.
Although Derek had been considering Collins for the part, he felt that her naturally blonde hair was ill-suited to the character, whom he perceived as a brunette. It remained in a vault for several years until being sold to producer Kevin Casselman.
Casselman's attempts to distribute the film globally prompted Derek and Collins to seek a restraining order against its release. They eventually dropped any legal action, deciding it was not worth their time and effort. During the course of these events, Collins became sexually involved with John Derek, who was 30 years her senior and still married to actress Linda Evans. Upon his divorce from Evans, Derek moved to Germany with Collins, where he would not face prosecution under California's statutory rape laws because Collins was under the age of consent.
