Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
| Elizabeth Collins Stoddard | |||||||||||||||
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| Dark Shadows character | |||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by |
Joan Bennett (1966 — 1971) Jean Simmons (1991) Blair Brown (2004) Michelle Pfeiffer (2012) |
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| First appearance | June 27, 1966 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | May 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Created by | Dan Curtis and Art Wallace | ||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||
| Other names | Elizabeth Collins (maiden name) | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Socialite | ||||||||||||||
| Residence | Collinwood | ||||||||||||||
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| Parents | Jamison Collins (father, deceased) Catherine Collins (mother, deceased) |
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| Siblings | Roger Collins (brother) |
| Spouse | Paul Stoddard (1947 - Winter 1970; widowed) |
| Children | Carolyn Stoddard (daughter with Paul) |
| Grandparents | Edward Collins (grandfather) Laura Collins (grandmother) |
| Aunts and uncles | Nora Collins (paternal aunt) Quentin Collins (great-uncle) Carl Collins (great-uncle) Judith Collins (great-aunt) |
| Other relatives |
David Collins (nephew) Geoffrey Collins (great-grandfather) |
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is a fictional character played by Joan Bennett on the cult television ABC-TV Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows from 1966 to 1971. Elizabeth is the matriarch of the Collins family, the longtime owners of a cannery and shipping company in a small Maine fishing town. Jean Simmons portrayed the character in the revival series in 1991, and Blair Brown took over the role in the WB pilot. Elizabeth is played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 2012 feature film.
At the start of the series (1966), we learn that Elizabeth's husband Paul Stoddard (Dennis Patrick) disappeared in 1949, some 17 years before the arrival of governess Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke). Since her husband went missing, Elizabeth has not left the ancient family mansion, Collinwood, or its grounds.
Elizabeth's younger brother is the snobbish Roger Collins (Louis Edmonds). The father of both Elizabeth and Roger was Jamison Collins. Roger has a darkly mischievous (some would say diabolical) son named David Collins (David Henesy), of whom Elizabeth is quite fond. Elizabeth's daughter is spoiled rich girl Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett). Despite her imperious and reserved exterior, Elizabeth is a deeply passionate woman who harbors several dark secrets. The main secret that emerges in the course of the series is her belief that she murdered her husband, Paul Stoddard, and that his body was buried in the basement. This is the reason she has not left Collinwood for nearly 20 years. However, the story of her husband's death proves to be an elaborate con by Paul himself and his criminal colleague Jason McGuire (also played by Dennis Patrick), through which they planned to blackmail Elizabeth into giving them the Collins fortune. Fortunately the truth comes out before grave damage is done, and McGuire is killed shortly thereafter by Barnabas Collins as he desperately tried to recoup his losses. Paul eventually reappears in 1969, and dies the following year.
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