Lynn Collins

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title: "Lynn Collins" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "1977-births", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses", "actresses-from-houston", "american-expatriates-in-japan", "american-expatriates-in-singapore", "american-film-actresses", "american-people-of-english-descent", "american-people-of-irish-descent", "american-people-of-scottish-descent", "american-people-who-self-identify-as-being-of-cherokee-descent", "american-shakespearean-actresses", "american-stage-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "juilliard-school-alumni", "klein-high-school-alumni"] description: "American actress" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Collins" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Lynn Collins
image	LynnCollinsApr09.jpg
caption	Collins at the X-Men Origins: Wolverine premiere, April 2009
birth_name	Viola Lynn Collins
birth_date
birth_place	College Station, Texas, U.S.
education	Juilliard School (BFA)
occupation	Actress
years_active	1999–present
spouse	{{ubl
{{marriage	Steven Strait
{{marriage	Matthew Boyle
children	1
::

| name = Lynn Collins | image = LynnCollinsApr09.jpg | caption = Collins at the X-Men Origins: Wolverine premiere, April 2009 | birth_name = Viola Lynn Collins | birth_date = | birth_place = College Station, Texas, U.S. | education = Juilliard School (BFA) | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1999–present | spouse = {{ubl | | | children = 1

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.

She attended Singapore American School and Klein High School in Texas. 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.

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 the 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine opposite Hugh Jackman. Her first leading film role came in 2012 when she was cast as the headstrong Martian princess Dejah Thoris in John Carter.

Personal life

Collins married Steven Strait on December 23, 2007, after a four-year relationship.

She married Matthew Boyle in November 2014. They divorced in 2016. They have a son.

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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Lynn_Collins_TIFF_2011.jpg" caption="Collins at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival"] ::

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Never Get Outta the Boat	Stacy
2003	Down with Love	Beatnik Girl
2004	50 First Dates	Linda
13 Going on 30	Wendy
The Merchant of Venice	Portia
2006	Return to Rajapur	Sara Reardon
Bug	R.C.
The Lake House	Mona
The Dog Problem	Lola
2007	The Number 23	Suicide Blonde / Mrs. Dobkins / Young Fingerling's Mother
Numb	Sara Harrison
Towelhead	Thena Panos
2008	Life in Flight	Kate Voss
Uncertainty	Kate Montero
2009	X-Men Origins: Wolverine	Kayla Silverfox
Blood Creek	Barb
2010	City Island	Vince's Bombshell Girlfriend
2011	Angels Crest	Cindy
10 Years	Anna
2012	John Carter	Dejah Thoris
Unconditional	Samantha Crawford
2013	The Wolverine	Kayla Silverfox	Archival audio (uncredited)
2015	Lost in the Sun	Mary
2016	The Hollow Point	Marla
2019	Rim of the World	Major Collins
Beneath Us	Liz Rhodes
2024	Someone Like You	Louise Quinn
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Virginia Hayes	1 episode
2001	Earth Angels	Catarin	Television film
The Education of Max Bickford		1 episode
2002	Push, Nevada	BRB's Wife
Haunted	Assistant D.A. Jessica Manning	5 episodes
2008	True Blood	Dawn Green	6 episodes
2013	Elementary	Tanya Barrett	1 episode
2014	Covert Affairs	Olga Akarova	3 episodes
2015	A Mother Betrayed	Monica	Television film
2017	Manhunt: Unabomber	Natalie Rogers	7 episodes
2019	The Fix	Dr. Carys Daly	2 episodes
2020	Bosch	Alicia Kent	8 episodes
2021–2022	The Walking Dead	Leah Shaw	10 episodes
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table]

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2005	9th Golden Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actress – Musical or Comedy	The Merchant of Venice
2009	11th Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Fresh Face – Female	X-Men Origins: Wolverine
::

References

References

1. (2010). "Lynn Collins - Biography". [[Baseline StudioSystems]].
2. [[Ancestry.com]]. ''Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1997''. [[Lehi, Utah. Lehi, UT]]: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2005.
3. Millar, John. (March 4, 2012). "Classic Actress Turns Alien Princess for Out-of-this-World Movie Epic 'John Carter'". [[Daily Record (Scotland).
4. Ryan, Mike. (March 9, 2012). "Lynn Collins, 'John Carter' Star, Cried While Reading the Script (In a Good Way)". [[BuzzFeed]].
5. Ramsey, Nancy. (December 26, 2004). "The trials of a young talent". [[Los Angeles Times]].
6. Barna, Ben. (March 7, 2012). "Lynn Collins is Ready to Blast-Off in the Epic 'John Carter'". BlackBook [BlackBookMag.com].
7. Busch, Jenna. (March 9, 2012). "'John Carter': Lynn Collins on Female Warriors, Actor Slapping". [[Nexstar Media Group]].
8. "Top 99 Women, 2012 Edition: Lynn Collins".
9. (May 2008). "Alumni News". [[The Juilliard School]].
10. {{better source needed. (August 2016 After bit parts that included a stint on the show ''[[Haunted (2002 TV series)). (August 2016 she gained notice in the film ''[[The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)). The Merchant of Venice]]'' as the female lead [[Portia (Shakespeare). (August 2016 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.''New York Daily News'' 26 December 2004 "Power to Her Portia: actress Lynn Collins breaks out in ''Merchant of Venice'' film" by John Clark p.11 (Sunday Now))
11. ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' January 28, 2005 "Onscreen: a ''Merchant'' of fine measure" by Carrie Rickey p.W3
12. Kit, Borys. (June 12, 2009). "Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins blast off to ''Mars''". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
13. Marr, Madeleine. (March 7, 2012). "Lynn Collins is 'John Carter's' Warrior Princess". [[McClatchy Newspapers]].
14. Gelt, Jessica. (September 9, 2000). "Supper Club, where dining is a class act".
15. Chaudhary, Rakesh. "Steven Strait Felt No Compunctions about Dating Actresses after Divorce with Wife Lynn Collins".
16. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090416110546/http://www.allure.com/magazine/2009/05/nudes The Naked Truth: Five Celebrities Bare It All] Allure. Archived on April 15, 2009.
17. Fanning, Evan. "Down to Earth with the Most Beautiful Woman in the Universe". [[The Independent]].

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