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Alexis Carrington Colby

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“
Believe it or not, I'm not the perfect mother. The only thing I can change is what happens next. We've all been hurt, we just don't wanna pass on that hurt.
 ”
Alexis Carrington Colby[src]

Alexis Dexter (née Morell, previously Carrington and Colby) is a main character on The CW's Dynasty. She is portrayed by Nicollette Sheridan in the first and second seasons, temporarily recast with Elizabeth Gillies for three episodes late in the second season, and portrayed by Elaine Hendrix for the third season onward.

Alexis is the first wife of Blake Carrington and mother to Adam, Steven, Fallon, and Amanda. She makes an unexpected return to the Carringtons' lives, challenging Blake's marriage to Cristal Flores (and later Cristal Jennings), seeking to reunite with her children, and fighting to claim what is hers. After her lies catch up to her, she temporarily exits their lives, once again, when a vengeful Adam pushes her face into a lit fireplace which prompts the need for facial reconstructive surgery. After a brief stint in Europe, Alexis is back in Atlanta, with a new look, a new man, and plenty of scores to settle.

Throughout the remainder of her quest for money and power, Alexis spars with sister-in-law-turned-mother-in-law, Dominique Deveraux, launches successful skincare company, Alexam, ultimately repairs her strained relationships with three of her four children, and finally settles down after finding true love in the form of her third husband, Dex Dexter.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Born on June 12, 1963 ("The Caviar, I Trust, Is Not Burned"), Alexis Morell was raised in Georgia, brought up by poor farmers. She meets Blake Carrington, but her father chases Blake away upon catching the two together. Blake returns with an engagement ring, and despite her mother wanting her to marry someone else, Alexis accepts Blake's proposal. Blake's father, Thomas Carrington, purchases the Morells farmland and constructs the Carrington Manor as a wedding gift for Alexis and Blake; however, the deed remains in Thomas' name for tax purposes. Alexis converts the loft above the stables into her art studio. ("Enter Alexis", "Use or Be Used")

Alexis EL 121
Alexis and Blake with their newborn son, Adam. ("Trashy Little Tramp")

During a stay at the Carrington Compound, Alexis and Blake conceive their first son, Adam. ("A Little Fun Wouldn't Hurt") At six months old, however, Adam is kidnapped from his crib. Despite following instructions from the police, Alexis and Blake are unable to find their son which causes an irreparable strain on their marriage. ("I Answer to No Man", "A Line From the Past", "Crazy Lady") In the following months, Alexis turns to majordomo Joseph Anders for comfort, and a drunken night together leads to the conception of Alexis' second child, Steven. She lies about the paternity to both Blake and Joseph and fudges the conception date to pass Steven off as Blake's child. ("The Butler Did It", "Snowflakes in Hell")

Alexis EL 219
Alexis and Blake bringing Fallon home from the hospital. ("This Illness of Mine")

Additionally, Alexis and Blake conceive their firstborn daughter, Fallon, after a strip croquet game down by the lake of the Carrington property. ("Enter Alexis") After 28 hours of labor, Alexis gives birth to Fallon in January of 1993. ("A Well-Dressed Tarantula", "She Cancelled...")

Despite maintaining a united front for the sake of their kids, finances, and social life, Alexis and Blake never recover for Adam's disappearance, and the two have numerous affairs throughout the duration of their marriage. At some point, Alexis cheats with Judge Paul Daniels ("Promises You Can't Keep"), Russian oligarch Nikolai Dimitrov ("Twenty-Three Skidoo"), a gardener that works for both the Carringtons and the Daniels ("Ship of Vipers"), as well as Hans, her yoga instructor. Alexis' affair with Hans catches the attention of Blake, who has Joseph orchestrate an injury to get rid of him. Unbeknownst to Blake, however, Alexis becomes pregnant for the fourth time on New Years Eve of 1995. Alexis keeps the pregnancy a secret as she believes Hans may be the biological father, and she spends the last several months of the pregnancy in Europe where she gives birth to her second daughter, Amanda. Alexis gives Amanda to her infertile cousin to adopt and be raised in London. Alexis keeps in touch with Amanda's adoptive mother, pays a few visits in order to have a connection with her estranged daughter, as well as offers financial support. ("Equal Justice for the Rich", "The British Are Coming", "Stars Make You Smile")

To cope with a failing marriage and to find a sense of purpose, Alexis immerses herself in Atlanta high-society, befriending socialites such as Mimi Rose Prescott and taking part in charity causes and formal events for the Georgia elite. ("A Real Instinct for the Jugular") On Thanksgiving in 2000, Alexis and Thomas attend a lymphoma charity gala while Blake claims to tend to a CA emergency. In actuality, he is spending the evening with Steven and Fallon's nanny, Heather. This leaves Ben Carrington to care for his and Blake's ill mother, but he is called away for an emergency and a miscommunication results in Evelyn's neglect and ultimate death via drowning in a bathtub. ("There's No One Around to Watch You Drown")

Alexis EL 203
Alexis' tryst with Anders risks exposure. ("The Butler Did It")

Joseph's daughter, Kirby Anders, grows up in the manor and is said to have terrorized Alexis during the time of her stay. After Alexis and Blake get into a fight in which Blake decides to call his divorce attorney, Alexis vents to Joseph and fears Blake discovering their one night stand from over a decade prior. Alexis discovers a 12 year old Kirby listening in on this conversation, and fearing Kirby exposing the truth, Alexis sets fire to Fallon's bedroom and leaves Kirby to take the blame. Kirby is exiled from the manor, sent to live with her mother back in Australia. ("The Butler Did It")

Alexis EL 120
Blake's lies to the Colbys brings Alexis to her breaking point. ("A Line From the Past")

In 2007, Alexis reaches her breaking point with Blake's lies and manipulations, growing disgusted by his treatment of Jeff and Monica Colby, whose father he recently had imprisoned for false drug charges. After establishing a scholarship of the Colbys, Blake threatens to take it away if Jeff goes through with his intent to take Fallon to the Penley winter formal. This leads to a heated argument between Alexis and Blake where Alexis brings up Adam's kidnapping as the source behind Blake's twisted behavior. She remains quiet about the reasons behind keeping Fallon and Jeff apart, and allows for both teenagers to fall under the impression that they were stood up by the other. ("A Line From the Past") As Alexis begins to determine that her marriage with Blake is over, she secretly begins construction on a custom built home in Charleston, South Carolina where she plans to live with Steven, Fallon, and Amanda, who she intends to reunite with once her divorce is finalized. ("First Kidnapping and Now Theft")

Alexis finally moves forward to divorce Blake, but the proceedings take a turn for the worse. Alexis sets fire to Blake's Monet painting, throws his exotic fish collection into the pool, and untethers his yacht, the Carrington Cruiser, and let it drift out to sea. ("Vicious Vendetta") During the divorce proceedings, Alexis visits London where she watches Amanda in a production of Our Town, but she sees how happy Amanda is with her adoptive parents and decides to not reveal Amanda's true parentage to avoid sabotaging her daughter's happiness. ("First Kidnapping and Now Theft") Alexis' divorce from Blake is finalized on July 24, 2008 ("There's No Need to Panic"), after Blake bribes Judge Paul Daniels to deem Alexis an unfit parent and to grant Blake full custody. Blake threatens to have Alexis thrown in prison if she objects to the ruling, so she admits defeat and escapes to Europe to start a new life for herself and find the comfort in the arms of numerous counts and viceroys. ("Enter Alexis", "First Kidnapping and Now Theft")

Having lost Steven and Fallon, Alexis uses her divorce settlement to resume the search for Adam, seeking help from and ultimately scammed by numerous private investigators and psychics. ("Don't Con a Con Artist") Alexis remains on good terms with her father-in-law, Thomas, who never approved of his son's divorce. Alexis visits Thomas during his open heart surgery in the early 2010s where he revises his will to leave Carrington estate to Alexis, as the land initially belonged to her family. ("Enter Alexis")

Alexis EL 117
Mother and son, united again. ("Enter Alexis")

As the money runs out, Alexis loses faith in finding Adam and gives up on the search. She takes a trip to Jamaica where she meets Hank Sullivan, and she concocts a plan to get back everything she lost by having him impersonate Adam to eventually reunite with the family. ("A Line From the Past") In early 2017, Alexis resumes contact with Steven and visits him in South America during a mission trip for his foundation. She keeps the state of her finances a secret from Steven, not sharing the fact that she now lives in a trailer located an hour away from the manor. ("Enter Alexis")

Season 1[]

“
You son of a bitch! You're not gonna get away with this, Blake Carrington. I am gonna get everything back that you took from me... my money, my house, my children! And you, you're the one who's gonna end up living here until you rot in hell!
 ”
Alexis Carrington[src]
Alexis 104
Unsent postcards for Alexis. ("Private as a Circus")

On Blake and Cristal's wedding day, Steven says to his new stepmother that he hasn't seen his father so happy since his mother left. She answers that Blake refuses to talk about Alexis and hasn't told her anything about her. ("I Hardly Recognized You") After Matthew Blaisdel's funeral, a journalist tells Cristal that Fallon "really is her mother's daughter." ("Spit It Out") When Fallon's chauffeur and lover, Michael Culhane, tells her she can't blame everyone for her mother's mistakes, Fallon later burns postcards she wrote to her mother over the past decade but never sent. ("Private as a Circus") As Blake exiles Fallon from the manor for leaking Cristal's sex tape, he tells her that she's cruel, just like her mother. ("Company Slut") As a drunk Fallon unsuccessfully tries to seduce Jeff Colby, she says that her "stupid mother", her father, and Michael already rejected her. ("I Exist Only for Me") On Thanksgiving, Claudia Blaisdel takes the Carringtons hostage with the gun Alexis sent Fallon for her 16th birthday. ("A Taste of Your Own Medicine")

Alexis 115
Alexis' wedding dress on Fallon's wedding day. ("Our Turn Now")

On Fallon's birthday, Steven gifts her a lighter, telling her that it reminds him of their mother, when she used to let Fallon light her cigarettes. ("A Well-Dressed Tarantula") As Cristal learns more about Blake, she finds out about his and Alexis' first born son being kidnapped as a baby and that Blake bribed a judge for sole custody of Steven and Fallon when he and Alexis divorced. ("I Answer to No Man", "Promises You Can't Keep") After a dinner full of revelations with the Colbys, Fallon confronts her father about his supposed affair and blames him for making her believe it was her mother who cheated. ("The Gospel According to Blake Carrington") As Fallon gets ready to marry Jeff, she pulls Alexis' wedding dress from the attic and reflects on what her mother would think about all of this. After the ceremony, Thomas Carrington has a fatal heart attack. Just before dying, he reveals to Fallon that Blake never cheated on Alexis but only tried to protect him. ("Our Turn Now")

Alexis 116
"Traffic was a bitch." ("Poor Little Rich Girl")

As the Carringtons begin Thomas' funeral preparations following his heart attack and sudden death, Blake visits Thomas' home in Savannah where old wounds are uncovered as he is reminded of his past marriage with Alexis. He comes across a cassette-tape that was left by Thomas, recorded by Alexis under the insistence that someday he won't be around to tell Blake himself, that he loves him. Everyone dresses for the funeral, including Alexis, and during Steven's speech he proposes to his boyfriend, Sam Jones. As the two exit the chapel to celebrate, Blake continues with the eulogy as Alexis enters the building. She commands the attention of the room, interrupting Blake's words to apologize for her late arrival. ("Poor Little Rich Girl", "Enter Alexis")

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"Enter Alexis": It is revealed that Alexis stayed in touch with her son during her eleven-year absence and that she lost all the money given by Blake to disappear from their children's life. Alexis attends the reading of Grandpa's will and inherits the Carrington House but Fallon succeeds in to annul the codicil. After Culhane's move-out, Alexis moves in the studio next to the barn, which was her former art studio and property of her own family before Tom Carrington bought the parcel.

However, these plans were put on a "fast-forward" when Tom Carrington met his unfortunate demise[6] and the will-reading brought Alexis back home, where she and her family learned that Tom had left the entire Carrington Manor in her name.

This put a strain on her return as she attempted to sway her children into giving her another chance, which Fallon took a very long time to accept, inducing catfights and dramatics between the two in the meantime. However, her children grew to accept her as a part of the family, and have grown to understand that she loves them in her strange way, and will do anything to protect them.

Alexis has done many questionable things during her time staying with the Carringtons, including hiring a con artist to pretend to be her long-lost son with Blake. She is also indirectly and accidentally responsible for the murder of Blake's second wife, Celia Machado[7] by Hank Sullivan and Claudia Blaisdel.

Season 2[]

“
Well, while I was floating, I realized that I don't have SAD. I am sad. Nobody wants me here, and nobody needs me. And Cristal has weaseled her way into this family, and now she's been crowned as the new queen of the manor. Meanwhile, what am I doing? I just feel... directionless.
 ”
Alexis Carrington[src]
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She has often shown that she still holds a torch for Blake and hopes that things will work out, even going as far as reaching out to a psychic for guidance, and will often use any opportunity she can to drive a wedge between Blake and his wives.

She is also responsible of the loss of the pregnancy[8] for Blake's third wife, Cristal Jennings.

Alexis's antics with the con artist came back to bite her sometime later, when her actual long-lost son with Blake, Adam Carrington, returned home[9] and stirred up some old memories. She later discovered that Adam was quite a psychopath, responsible for killing his adoptive mother and driving Steven to insanity[10], which caused Adam to shove her face into a fireplace in an attempt to kill her. However, she managed to survive, and the hospital put into motion a restoration of her face. Although Adam seemed to be apologetic and Alexis began to forgive him for her disfigurement, she then discovered that Adam sabotaged her face reconstruction by giving them a photo of Fallon, which led to her new face looking almost exactly like her daughter's. This drove a wedge between her and her daughter, and she quickly fled to Europe[11] to get a new face reconstructed away from Adam with one final warning for her daughter regarding Adam's intentions.

Season 3[]

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After fixing the plastic surgery fiasco orchestrated by her diabolical son, Alexis is back in Atlanta, with a new look, a new man, and plenty of scores to settle.[12]

Season 4[]

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Season 5[]

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Personality[]

Alexis is scheming, conniving, narcissistic, and ruthless when it comes to getting what she wants. She always has a plan or tricks up her sleeve. She was absent from her children's lives for years and was considered non-maternal for not reaching out to her children for over a decade. Unlike Blake, Alexis has acknowledged her mistakes as a parent and even tried to make up for them. Despite her many questionable traits and constant meddling with her children, she will occasionally demonstrate twisted acts of love[13] for her children. Fallon and Steven have come to realize these acts are Alexis's version of motherly love - even though they included harming others.

According to many, Fallon and Alexis have a very similar personality ... both are brave, intelligent, determined, tough, narcissistic and often ruthless, according to Blake.

When it comes to her relationships, Alexis pined over Blake for years, partly because of his wealth and status but as time passed she learned to love him for how he was. When she returned years later, she didn't let the fact he had remarried stop her from pining over him again. She attempted to ruin his relationship with Celia by using petty antics, lies, and deceit to sway him back to herself. She even went as far as hiring a con artist to pretend to be their then-kidnapped son in an attempt to gain power and Blake's affections. She was later callous toward her real son out of fear that her secrets would resurface.

After all of her lies and treacherous behavior was revealed, Alexis was driven to suicide as she no longer had Blake's heart, money, or her children's affection. When she saw Mark Jennings and Blake's pregnant wife, Cristal horseback riding, she redirected her anger. She attempted to murder Cristal but accidentally shot and killed Mark instead. The accident caused Cristal to miscarry, an act that Alexis showed no remorse for upon confronted. Alexis even admitted to doing it again if she had the chance.

When she returned to Atlanta, Alexis had another con running with her former almost son-in-law-turned-husband, Jeff Colby. While she wants a relationship with her now-estranged children, she is truly motivated by one singular emotion - revenge and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

Relationships[]

  • Blake Carrington - Alexis and Blake were married at a young age, Alexis out of societal need as her mother pressured Alexis to marry Blake. The money Blake's father offered was significant. Alexis obeyed and they were in a passionate relationship. She is Blake's first wife and the mother of his two children, Adam and Fallon. Shortly after Adam was born, he was kidnapped from the Manor. The loss took a great toll on both Alexis and Blake, and it affected their marriage. Alexis had an affair with the Carrington butler that lead her to conceive another son. She lied and told Blake the child was his. This indiscretion stayed a secret for over twenty years. Now parents to Steven and Fallon, they were happy before their marital disputes took a toll on their marriage and led to a divorce. Alexis tried to obtain custody of her children, but Blake paid off a judge to make sure the vote would be swayed in his favor and paid Alexis to stay away. Over the years, their hatred for one another has only grown. When Alexis did return, she initially showed that she still holds a torch for Blake and hopes that things will work out. She uses any opportunity she can to drive a wedge between Blake and his wives. She is also partially responsible for the death of Blake's second wife, Celia Machado, and the loss of a pregnancy for Blake's third wife, Cristal Carrington. Whatever love they had for one another has since been crushed through their mutual schemes and betrayals. Alexis testified against Blake during his trial and married his arch-nemesis while Blake has made a point of making things hard for Alexis at every turn. Despite their complex history, Blake still holds Alexis to a higher standard than his other enemies as she is the mother of his children.
  • Jeff Colby - Alexis and Jeff have a complicated history. When Jeff was a teenager, he had a crush on Alexis' daughter, Fallon. He wanted to take her to a school dance which Alexis thought was sweet. However, Blake refused to allow their relationship to blossom and blackmailed Jeff into standing Fallon up. When Jeff tried to go through with his plan, Alexis intercepted Jeff and lied about Fallon leaving with someone else. She always tried to protect the boy. Years later, Alexis returned to Atlanta now married to Jeff. While to the public eye they are an unexpected yet in-love couple, their entire marriage is merely a business deal. They are helping each other get revenge on Blake. Despite this, Alexis cares for Jeff and has eluded to wanting more out of their marriage. Alexis' new developed feelings are not well received by a now fully cured Jeff, who begins dating Mia and eventually asks for a divorce. Alexis then admits her feelings to him, finally being honest about what she thinks. They consummated their marriage, with Jeff deciding not to file for divorce.
  • Dex Dexter

Appearances[]

Notes

Her appearance in "Miserably Ungrateful Men" was an uncredited cameo.

Press Releases[]

  • “There are certainly Easter eggs along the way until her grand entrance,” executive producer Sallie Patrick said in an interview with TVLine. “What we like is that we know when she’s coming. I’m not sure they knew their timing of her [on the original Dynasty], so she was absent from the first year. When she did show up, it was a huge twist and a great surprise. Since we live in a world that already knows about Alexis and knows about Joan Collins, we thought it’d be fun to build up that wonderful, delicious character before her grand entrance. We can only bring her in once, so we’re taking our time to figure it out.”
  • About her character, Sheridan thinks Alexis “truly is a loving mother, it's just sometimes she gets a little lost in her quest for power or manipulation.” [14]
  • The CW says of Alexis' return in Season 3, "Alexis is back in Atlanta, with a new look, a new man, and plenty of scores to settle."

Trivia[]

  • In the original series, Alexis was portrayed by Joan Collins. She was the main character and played a large role in the second season which lasted until the end of the series.
    • Joan Collins' entrance occurred in Episode 16 of the original series, just as Nicollette Sheridan in the 2017 series.
    • In the first draft of the original show, Alexis was called Madeline.
  • When a young Steven is playing the piano in I Hardly Recognized You, Alexis is the one holding the video camera, though her face isn't seen. [15]
  • On July 25, 2018, it was revealed that all outfits designed for Alexis Carrington would be featured on Mark Zunino's Beverly Hills store window.[16]
  • On March 27, 2019, Amy Sutherland confirmed in her official Instagram page that she was stepping into the iconic role of Alexis after Nicollette exited the series. She was dubbed as "Burned Alexis" in "Miserably Ungrateful Men". [17]
  • On April 26, 2019, Sallie Patrick and Elizabeth Gillies gave an interview regarding the recast decision and they revealed various things such as:[18]
    • Nicolette's departure was very sudden, but in the spirit of the OG Dynasty, they just went for the biggest twist possible as an homage to the double castings and doppelgängers they had on the original series.
    • They didn't want to bring in a new actress just yet, so they wanted to take their time with it.
    • To look like Alexis, a lifecast was done for Liz, in which they made a mold of her face. The prosthetics they ended up going with were incredibly thin and very impressive; it was done by Blue Whale Studios, run by Matthew Silva and Jonah Levy. It took five hours to get into them and about 45 minutes to get out.
  • Alexis used to smoke cigarettes. ("A Well-Dressed Tarantula")
  • Alexis and Blake conceived Fallon down by the lake after a strip croquet game. This is a reference to Nicollette Sheridan's role in Knots Landing in which her character Paige would play strip croquet with her love interest, Greg Sumner. ("Enter Alexis")
  • Alexis is one of the four characters who have been recasted.
  • Alexis skipped Fallon's 10th birthday because she thought Kenny G invited her backstage. ("That Wicked Stepmother")
  • Alexis' favorite fruit is passion fruit. ("Up A Tree")
  • Alexis and Blake's divorce was finalized on July 24, 2008. ("There's No Need to Panic")
  • Alexis registered at Aston Martin when she married Jeff. ("The Caviar, I Trust, Is Not Burned", "Vicious Vendetta")
  • During Alexis and Blake's divorce, Alexis: ("Vicious Vendetta")
    • Set fire to Blake's Monet painting.
    • Threw his exotic fish collection into the pool.
    • Untethered his yacht, the Carrington Cruiser, and let it drift off to sea.
  • Alexis and Dex are clothing-optional at home. ("There's No One Around to Watch You Drown")
  • She is one of the six characters (along with Mrs. Gunnerson, Tony, Cristal, Lo, and Jeanette) who were recast.
    • She and Tony are the only two characters who were recast more than once.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ↑ In "The British Are Coming", Alexis gives Adam and then Amanda a ring that was passed down from her great-grandfather."
  2. ↑ In "Equal Justice for the Rich", Alexis reveals she sent Amanda to be raised by her first cousin in London.
  3. ↑ In "That Unfortunate Dinner", Alexis mentions great-aunt Maude who, at 98 years old, broke her hip on her wedding day.
  4. ↑ In "Use or Be Used", Alexis reveals she almost married someone else.
  5. ↑ In "Enter Alexis", Alexis reveals her partner Rupert passed away the previous year.
  6. ↑ Dynasty: Our Turn Now
  7. ↑ Alexis locked Cristal in the loft after a fight, and Hank Sullivan, the con-artist she hired set the loft on fire without her knowledge. ("Dead Scratch")
  8. ↑ Alexis shot Cristal's ex-husband while he was horse-riding with her, which spooked the horse and caused it to throw Cristal off, leading to the loss of her pregnancy. ("Even Worms Can Procreate")
  9. ↑ Dynasty: "Motherly Overprotectiveness"
  10. ↑ Dynasty: "Parisian Legend Has It..."
  11. ↑ Dynasty: "This Illness of Mine"
  12. ↑ https://tvline.com/2019/10/28/dynasty-cast-elaine-hendrix-alexis-recast-season-3/
  13. ↑ Alexis hit a society lady with her car to get a wedding venue for Fallon. While twisted, it was a gesture that Fallon appreciated. ("A Real Instinct for the Jugular")
  14. ↑ http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/08/dynasty-first-look-nicollette-sheridan-alexis-carrington/
  15. ↑ http://ew.com/tv/2017/10/11/dynasty-premiere-blog-sallie-patrick/
  16. ↑ https://twitter.com/Mark_Zunino/status/1022150680583143424
  17. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BvhKgKPHici/
  18. ↑ https://tvline.com/2019/04/26/dynasty-season-2-elizabeth-gillies-interview-alexis-recast/
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