AIM FOR THE STARS

The Knots Landing alum shares thoughts about her life on and off the set

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Her character, longsuffering Valene Ewing, arrived on Dallas in 1978 before spinning off into the enormously popular Knots Landing. Set in California, the series' emphasis on close female friendships - and the troubles that routinely tested their strength - set it apart from the other nighttime dramas of the era. That family spirit still exists among the show's former co-stars today. "I am more closely connected with Michele [Lee] and Donna [Mills] than ever," Joan, 80, tells Closer. "The three of us have a sisterhood. I want us to go to a rest home and be three little feisty devils flipping it upside down." Happily, Joan's not ready for retirement just yet. The actress, who is approaching 58 years of marriage to her high school sweetheart, still loves to work. "My dream is to do something way unexpected - like play a biker girl," she says. "I know there's one more big one in me."

You were named after St. Joan of Arc, who led the French army into battle. Are you anything like her?

Maybe my obsession with spirituality and not being denied one's goal. I'm like a flame that flickers for a while but always returns to a stillness. When I was 15 or 16, I played her in a University of Colorado production. With her life flashing before her eyes, she's strapped to the stake and they light the fire. It brought the audience to tears.

On Knots Landing, Broadway legend Julie Harris played your mother, but you had met much earlier in your life.