Lynn Collins

Viola Lynn Collins (born May 16, 1977) is an American actress. She has made television appearances in True Blood (2008), Manhunt: Unabomber (2017) and The Walking Dead (2021–2022), and is recognized for her roles in films such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and John Carter (2012).

Youth and education

Viola Lynn Collins was born in College Station, Texas, on May 16, 1977. Collins has claimed English, Scottish, Irish and Cherokee ancestry. Collins grew up in Houston, Texas, and lived in Singapore from ages 4 to 10. She also spent several summers in Japan. During a childhood Christmas pageant in which she played Mrs. Claus, Collins discovered her love for acting.[better source needed]

She attended Singapore American School and Klein High School in Texas.[citation needed] She moved to New York City at the age of 17 to enroll at Juilliard School's Drama Division (Group 28: 1995–1999), where she graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Career

Collins made her television debut in 1999, in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and went on to star onstage as Ophelia opposite Liev Schreiber in Hamlet, followed by a turn as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.[better source needed] After bit parts that included a stint on the series Haunted and roles in the films Down with Love (2003), 50 First Dates (2004) and 13 Going on 30 (2004),[better source needed] she gained notice in the film The Merchant of Venice (2004) as the female lead Portia, alongside Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons,[better source needed] Collins' audition tape for the supporting role of Jessica having so impressed director Michael Radford that—upon Cate Blanchett's opting out as Portia (due to pregnancy)—Radford had championed Collins becoming Blanchett's replacement.

She furthered her profile in 2008 when she was cast as Jason Stackhouse's girlfriend Dawn Green in the first season of the HBO vampire series True Blood, and through a featured role as the hero's love interest Kayla Silverfox in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) opposite Hugh Jackman. Her first leading film role came when she was cast as the headstrong Martian princess Dejah Thoris in John Carter (2012).

Personal life

Collins married Steven Strait on December 23, 2007, after a four-year relationship. Collins and Strait separated in 2013.[citation needed]

She married Matthew Boyle in November 2014. They divorced in 2016. They have a son.[citation needed]

In 2009, she posed nude for the May issue of Allure magazine.

Collins was raised in a "very, very religious" family of Southern Baptists, and has since explored several religious faiths, describing herself as a "pretty spiritual person."

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

External links

• at IMDb