When you consider the fact that Linda Evans' face first became familiar to the American viewing public in the mid-Sixties, when she was a regular on the family-oriented TV show The Big Valley, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Lee Majors, you have to admit that as TV personalities go, she's been around for a while. Sure, she was pretty then, just as she is now, but nobody went bananas over her. She, like her ex-husband John Derek's current wife, Bo, could have become a big phenom in her teens. After all, Stefanie Powers and Tuesday Weld were at Hollywood High School with Linda, and they became overnight sensations in their early films. But somehow, Linda's appearance in her first movie, 1963's Twilight of Honor, with Richard Chamberlain, didn't put her on the map. Nor had she become a widely recognized hot ticket by the time Derek photographed her for Playboy in 1971 (as he had his Previous wife, Ursula Andress, in 1965, 1966 and again in 1973). Linda's marriage to Derek temporarily interrupted her film career; but in 1974, she returned to the Technicolor screen in The Klansman, with Richard Burton. By 1977, the year Linda starred as James Franciscus' partner in CBS' Hunter (an espionage-adventure series unrelated to NBC's current cop show by that title), the Derek household had broken up and John had married Bo. Linda went back to the movies---appearing in 1979's Avalanche Express, with Lee Marvin, and Tom Horn, opposite Steve McQueen---and into another marriage, to Realtor Stan Herman, which also ended in divorce. Still, not one fashion magazine elected to put her on its cover, and very few women were overheard wistfully musing, "Gee, I wish I looked like Linda Evans." Then, in 1981, came Dynasty and the role of Krystle Carrington. Today, at the age of 43, Linda is one of the most widely recognized women in the world; Dynasty is a big hit overseas as well as in the U.S. Hers is the face that millions of women envy and millions of men would love to kiss. Her likeness appears repeatedly not only on the covers of fashion magazines but on just about every other kind of publication that isn't devoted to hunting, fishing or motorcycles. Her Linda Evans Beauty and Exercise Book, written with Sean Catherine Derek, John's daughter from his first marriage (still with us?), became an instant best seller when it was published in 1983. Cannon Films has just signed her, reportedly for $3,000,000, to do two movies and a miniseries. She continually ranks at the top of lists of women that Americans most admire, has been nominated for the Golden Globe Award and has twice won The People's Choice Award for favorite TV actress. Perhaps it's because she's a symbol of our culture's new-found realization that middle-aged women are often sexier than young ones. But for whatever reason, it's fair to say that Linda Evans has become not just a famous actress but a national icon. And who better to pay pictorial tribute to her enduring beauty than we? Thus, we've brought you these classic photos, taken when Linda was between the ages of 27 and 43. They're a testament to the adage that beauty is, indeed, timeless.
