Lynn Collins

Viola Lynn Collins was born in College Station, Texas,^[1] on May 16, 1977.^[2] Collins has claimed English, Scottish, Irish, and Cherokee ancestry, though has never provided proof of Cherokee ancestry.^[3][4] Collins grew up in Houston, Texas, and lived in Singapore from ages 4 to 10.^[5][6] She also spent several summers in Japan.^[7] During a childhood Christmas pageant in which she played Mrs. Claus, Collins discovered her love for acting.^{[8][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^[9] with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.^[1]

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.^{[8][better source needed]} After bit parts that included a stint on the show Haunted and roles in the movies Down with Love, 50 First Dates and 13 Going on 30,^{[8][better source needed]} she gained notice in the film The Merchant of Venice as the female lead Portia, alongside Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons,^{[8][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.^[10][11]

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.^[12][13]

Collins married Steven Strait on December 23, 2007,^[14] after a four-year relationship.^[6] Collins and Strait separated in 2013.^{[15][citation needed]}

She married Matthew Boyle in November 2014. They divorced in 2016. They have a son.^{[15][citation needed]}

In 2009, she posed nude for the May issue of Allure magazine.^[16]

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."^[3][17]