Early life

Margaret Colin was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and was raised in Baldwin, New York, on Long Island. She is of Irish descent and was raised in a Roman Catholic family; her father was a New York City police officer. She graduated from Baldwin Senior High School in 1976.

Career

After graduating from Hofstra University, Colin began her acting career in the soap opera The Edge of Night, playing an heiress and former terrorist. In seven months on that show, her character survived seven murder attempts and ended up marrying her stepbrother. She followed that role with a longer stint on As the World Turns, originating the role of Margo Montgomery, a character that endured nearly 30 years.

She has appeared on a number of primetime television shows, starting with Foley Square, Leg Work, and several early episodes of Chicago Hope. She played Lisa Wiseman on the 1999 series Now and Again, with Eric Close and Dennis Haysbert. In 2003, she appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled "Tortured", playing a mother/bakery owner who was later arrested for murder.

From 2007 to 2012, Colin played the recurring role of Eleanor Waldorf, mother of Blair Waldorf, on the teen drama television series Gossip Girl. In the pilot episode, Eleanor was played by One Life to Live actress Florencia Lozano.

Colin has also been in a number of films, the most well-known of which are probably Something Wild (1986), Three Men and a Baby (1987), The Butcher's Wife (1991), Independence Day (1996), Unfaithful (2002), and First Daughter (2004). She also appeared in the play Jackie: An American Life, in which she played Jacqueline Kennedy.

During her 2003 performance of the English play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg on Broadway, Colin smoked her way through the second half of the show and dedicated the performance to Mayor Michael Bloomberg in defiance of the state's smoking ban. After the play finished its run, she gave up smoking.

Personal life

Colin met actor Justin Deas when he played her love interest, Tom Hughes, on As the World Turns. They were married in January 1988. The couple have two sons, Sam and Joe, and Colin is stepmother of her husband's daughter from his first marriage. The family moved to Upper Montclair, New Jersey in the late 1990s.

She is a pro-life activist and was formerly the honorary co-chair of Feminists for Life, an organization opposed to abortion. Colin is now the honorary board member of the group, Feminists for Nonviolent Choices, which is not affiliated with Feminists for Life.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Pretty in Pink	English teacher
1986	Something Wild	Irene
1987	Return of Sherlock Holmes, TheThe Return of Sherlock Holmes	Jane Watson	Television film
1987	Warm Hearts, Cold Feet	Amy Webster	Television film
1987	Like Father Like Son	Ginnie Armbruster
1987	Three Men and a Baby	Rebecca
1989	True Believer	Kitty Greer
1989	Traveling Man	Joanna Reath	Television film
1990	Martians Go Home	Sara Brody
1990	Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston	Michelle Caruso	Television film
1991	Butcher's Wife, TheThe Butcher's Wife	Robyn Graves
1993	Amos & Andrew	Judy Gillman
1994	Terminal Velocity	Joline "Jo"	Uncredited
1995	In the Shadow of Evil	Dr. Molly Nostrand	Television film
1996	Independence Day	Constance Spano
1996	Milk & Money	Lorraine
1997	Devil's Own, TheThe Devil's Own	Sheila O'Meara
1997	Time to Say Goodbye?	Kristen Hamstra
1998	Adventures of Sebastian Cole, TheThe Adventures of Sebastian Cole	Joan Cole
1999	Hit & Run	Joanna Kendall	Television film
1999	Swing Vote	Linda Kirkland	Television film
2001	Private Lies	Ellen	Television film
2001	Familiar Stranger, TheThe Familiar Stranger	Elizabeth "Peachy" Welsh	Television film
2001	Wedding Dress, TheThe Wedding Dress	Madeline Carver	Television film
2002	Blue Car	Diane
2002	Unfaithful	Sally
2004	First Daughter	Melanie MacKenzie
2006	Broken Sole, AA Broken Sole	Nan
2007	Happenstance	Beth	Short film
2008	Deception	Ms. Pomerantz
2008	iMurders	Carol Uberoth
2009	Missing Person, TheThe Missing Person	Lana Cobb
2012	Camilla Dickinson	Mona Rowan
2012	Backwards	Mrs. Brooks
2014	Kelly & Cal	Janice
2014	You Must Be Joking	Linda Schwartz
2015	Stealing Chanel	Constance Borden	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Edge of Night, TheThe Edge of Night	Paige Madison	21 episodes
1980-83	As the World Turns	Margo Hughes	Role held: July 1980 - October 1983
1985-86	Foley Square	Asst. D.A. Alex Harrigan	Main cast; 14 episodes
1987	Leg Work	Claire McCarron	Main cast; 10 episodes
1988	Magnum, P.I.	Connie Northrop	Episode: "Legend of the Lost Art"
1991-92	Sibs	Audie Ruscio	Main cast; 22 episodes
1994	Related by Birth	Audie Ruscio	Television special
1994	Chicago Hope	Dr. Karen Antonovich	5 episodes
1995	Wright Verdicts, TheThe Wright Verdicts	Sandy Hamor	Main cast; 6 episodes
1999-2000	Now and Again	Lisa Wiseman	Main cast; 14 episodes
2000	Madigan Men	Vonda Madigan	Episode: "Pilot"
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mrs. Krug	Episode: "Tortured"
2004	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Dr. Eloise Barnes	Episode: "Shrink-Wrapped"
2007-12	Gossip Girl	Eleanor Waldorf-Rose	33 episodes
2009	Royal Pains	Lucy Everett	Episode: "Strategic Planning"
2010	Law & Order	Mary Markson	Episode: "Four Cops Shot"
2010	Medium	Kelly Shuler	Episode: "It's a Wonderful Death"
2012	Blue Bloods	Melanie Maines	Episode: "Women with Guns"
2012	Nurse Jackie	Trish	2 episodes
2013	Good Wife, TheThe Good Wife	Rochelle	Episode: "The Seven Day Rule"
2013	Elementary	Natalie Gale	Episode: "Blood Is Thicker"
2014	Gotham	Taylor Reece	Episode: "Viper"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]