Early life

Collins was born in Schenectady, New York. She attended Amsterdam High School in Amsterdam, New York. In 1988, she won the title Miss New York Teen USA and was the first runner-up for the Miss Teen USA Pageant in that same year. Collins later attended London's Royal National Theatre Studio and the Howard Fine Acting Studio in Los Angeles.

Career

Collins starred in ABC daytime soap opera Loving as Dinah Lee Mayberry from 1991 to 1994. After leaving daytime, Collins appeared in films like Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996), Best of the Best: Without Warning (1998), and Beautiful (2000), and guest-starred in primetime shows such as Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Star Trek: Voyager, Beverly Hills 90210, and Dawson's Creek.

Collins played Meredith Davies on the Fox Network's Tru Calling from 2003 to 2004. She had a major recurring role in the NBC period drama, American Dreams, and later appeared in the short-lived series Unscripted and Scoundrels. She also starred in the short-lived ABC comedy-drama Big Shots from 2007 to 2008. In film, Collins played roles in Ritual (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Dirty Love (2005), Live! (2007), and Open House (2010). Her other television credits include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Two and a Half Men, Nip/Tuck, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and NCIS.

In 2011, Collins returned to soaps with a role as Avery Bailey Clark on CBS's The Young and the Restless. In 2013, she was nominated for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role. In May 2015, Soap Opera Digest reported that Collins was leaving the show, with Avery's last appearance airing on July 21, 2015.

Personal life

She married Robert Tyler on November 11, 1996. The couple divorced February 15, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences. Collins and writer/producer Michael Cooney welcomed daughter, Jemma Kate Collins Cooney, on January 23, 2016. On May 4, 2016, Collins announced that she and Cooney had married.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1996	Leprechaun 4: In Space	Dr. Tina Reeves
1998	Best of the Best: Without Warning	Karina
2000	Beautiful	Miss Lawrenceville
2002	Ritual	Jackie
2002	Catch Me If You Can	Peggy
2003	King for a Day	Mother	Short film
2005	Dirty Love	Mandy
2007	Live!	Starlet
2010	Open House	Lauren

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991-94	Loving	Dinah Lee Mayberry Alden	Series regular
1992	All My Children	Dinah Lee Mayberry Alden	Guest Appearance
1994	M.A.N.T.I.S.	Corrine	Episode: "Through the Dark Circle"
1994	Coach	Bridget McDermott	Episode: "Working Girl"
1995	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Mindy Church	Episodes: "Home is Where the Hurt Is", "We Have a Lot to Talk About"
1996	Diagnosis: Murder	Wendy Windsor	Episode: "A Model Murder"
1996	Life with Roger	Heather	Episode: "The Way We Was"
1997	Star Trek: Voyager	Linnis Paris	Episode: "Before and After"
1997	Beverly Hills 90210	Jody Carlisle	Episodes: "Deadline", "Child of the Night", "Friends, Lovers, and Children"
2000	Dawson's Creek	Sherry Eisler	Episode: "To Green, With Love"
2002	Off Centre	Kristi Lee	Episode: "The Good, The Bad, and The Lazy"
2002	Andy Richter Controls the Universe	Leslie	Episode: "Little Andy in Charge"
2002-03	American Dreams	Colleen	7 episodes
2003-04	Tru Calling	Meredith Davies	Main role (season 1), 15 episodes
2004	The Ranch	Kim	Television film
2005	Everwood	Cameron	Episode: "Giving Up the Girl"
2005	Unscripted	Jessica	4 episodes
2005	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Missy	Episode: "Dog Eat Dog"
2006	Two and a Half Men	Gloria	Episode: "Walnuts and Demerol"
2007-08	Big Shots	Marla	Main role, 11 episodes
2008	Gary Unmarried	Leslie	Episode: "Gary and Allison Brooks"
2009	Nip/Tuck	Tracy Pierce	Episode: "Lola Wlodkowski"
2010	Scoundrels	Valerie Bottoms	4 episodes
2010	CSI: Miami	Marcie Westerfield	Episode: "Happy Birthday"
2011	Memphis Beat	Margo	Episode: "Troubled Water"
2011, 2013	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	Jackie Denardo	Episodes: "The Storm of the Century", "The Gang Saves the Day"
2011-15	The Young and the Restless	Avery Bailey Clark	Series regular
2012	NCIS	Judy Ford	Episode: "Recovery"
2014	Perception	Special Agent Anne-Marie Bishop	Episode: "Prologue"

Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
1994	Soap Opera Digest Award	Hottest Female Star	Loving	Nominated
1994	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Younger Lead Actress	Loving	Nominated
2013	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2016	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]