Youth and education

Collins was born in Houston, Texas, and has English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. She has also claimed to having some Cherokee ancestry, referring to herself as "Irish and Cherokee". She spent her formative years in Singapore, with "summers in Japan where her parents were getting their fourth and fifth and sixth dan in Shitō-ryū ... Okinawa-style karate". During a childhood Christmas pageant in which she played Mrs. Claus, Collins discovered her love for acting.

She attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division (Group 28: 1995-1999) where she graduated 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. 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, she gained notice playing Portia in the film The Merchant of Venice, starring opposite Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons.

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 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 then 21-year-old actor Steven Strait on December 23, 2007 after a four-year relationship. Lynn and Steven Strait separated in 2013.

Lynn married musician Matthew Boyle, in November 2014. They have one child, Asher Hendrix Boyle.

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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Never Get Outta the Boat	Stacy
2003	Down with Love	Beatnik Girl
2004	13 Going on 30	Wendy
2004	50 First Dates	Linda
2004	The Merchant of Venice	Portia
2006	Return to Rajapur	Sara Reardon
2006	Bug	R.C.
2006	The Lake House	Mona
2006	The Dog Problem	Lola
2007	The Number 23	Suicide Blonde/Mrs. Dobkins/Young Fingerling's Mother
2007	Numb	Sara Harrison
2007	Towelhead	Thena Panos
2008	Life in Flight	Kate
2008	Uncertainty	Kate
2008	Eavesdrop	Tallulah
2009	Blood Creek	Barb
2009	X-Men Origins: Wolverine	Kayla Silverfox
2010	City Island	Vince's Bombshell Girlfriend
2011	Angels Crest	Cindy
2011	10 Years	Anna
2012	John Carter	Dejah Thoris
2012	Unconditional	Samantha Crawford
2013	The Wolverine	Kayla Silverfox	Archival Audio

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Virginia Hayes	1 episode
2001	Earth Angels	Catarin	Television movie
2001	The Education of Max Bickford		1 episode
2002	Push, Nevada	BRB's Wife	1 episode
2002	Haunted	Assistant D.A. Jessica Manning	5 episodes
2008	True Blood	Dawn Green	Series regular (5 episodes)
2013	Elementary	Tanya Barrett	1 episode
2014	Covert Affairs	Olga Akarova	3 episodes
2015	A Mother Betrayed	Monica	Television movie

[ Source: Wikipedia ]