Kate Collins
ON SOAP OPERA DIGEST AND WEEKLY ONLINE
SOAP STAR STATS
Kate Collins (ex-Janet, AMC)
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— ABC
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Vital Statistics
- Birthdate:
- May 6, 1958
- Birthplace:
- Boston, MA
- Marital Status:
- Married to Charles Newell on October 23, 1992
- Years On Show:
- Janet: 1991-1992, 11/28/05-2006. Natalie Dillon: October 1985-August 1992, 1997 (in spirit), 1998 (in spirit), 2001 (in spirit)
- Children:
- Jake (11), Luke (8)
THE 411
Kate Collins was born in Boston, MA to astronaut Michael Collins and Patricia M. Finnegan. She graduated from Northwestern University and went on to star in many theatrical performances. At age twenty-four Collins got married, but the pairing fizzled out three years later just prior to her Broadway debut in Doubles. Prior to being cast as the glamorous Natalie Hunter on ALL MY CHILDREN, Collins worked as a secretary in Manhattan while auditioning for roles. After winning the role of Natalie in 1985, she immediately treated herself to a luxurious gift: a cashmere sweater from Bloomingdale's men's department. In 1989, during a guest co-hosting stint on GOOD MORNING AMERICA, Collins interviewed her own father, who was a Command Module Pilot on the historic Apollo 11 mission (the first moon landing) in 1969, and she deemed it as her "most difficult" interview she has done. Collins would rather be the interviewer than the interviewee, and finds it easiest to interview a fellow actor. In 1990, Collins taught a series of acting classes at Video Associates in Manhattan.
In 1991, AMC granted her the dual role of Natalie's overweight, psychotic twin sister Janet. She came on the scene by taking over Natalie's life in time for her wedding to Trevor, and, in one of the more memorable storylines in recent AMC history, trapped Natalie in a well. Originally slated to be a six-month run, Collins ended up playing Natalie for seven years. In 1992, Collins vacated her roles on AMC. That year she married theatrical director, Charles Newell, moving to Chicago to work with her husband at the prestigious Court Theatre in Hyde Park. Collins and Newell had met in the seventh grade but it was twenty years before they finally married. In her absence from AMC, Robin Mattson took on the role of Janet. Though Mattson's Janet left being mentally stable, the character has become unhinged again since Collins resumed the role last November; she killed husband Trevor, caused the explosion at Erica's Mardi Gras Ball, and kidnapped Babe and Little Adam, among many other crimes.
ET CETERA
—Was a substitute co-host for Joan Lunden on GOOD MORNING AMERICA October 23-27, 1989
—Believes that "acting is in the shows."
—Was asked to return as Janet in 1992, but her pregnancy with son Jake prevented her from accepting the offer. Robin Mattson won the role
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
TV Roles
L.A. LAW (Judith Craig, 1993)
Film Roles
Riot on 42nd Street (1987)
Theatrical Roles
Doubles (Broadway, 1985)
Quiet on the Set (off-Broadway)
Bloodmoon (off-Broadway)
The Danube (off-Broadway)
Arcadia (The Goodman Theatre)
Hamlet (North Shore Music Theatre)
Private Lives (Cooperstown Theatre Festival)
A Younge Nunne Songe (Actors’ Theatre of Louisville)
Sly Fox (Actors' Theatre of Louisville)
Electra (Whole Theatre Company)
The Triumph of Love (Court Theatre, Leonide)
Miss Julie (Court Theatre, Miss Julie)
Nora (Court Theatre, Nora)
MEMORABLE QUOTES
"Janet's not unattractive...she's just neglected herself. That's my definition of her state. She's a fireplug, too, and she's bitter — Janet's carrying a lot of emotional baggage. Janet is very jealous of Natalie and all that Natalie has acquired. You know — sibling rivalry at its very best."— on Janet’s introduction to AMC, Soap Opera Weekly, August 20, 1991
"I decided right then and there, I would do anything I could to get a soap job. Besides, I like having a job. A routine, a commitment, somewhere I have to be everyday. And I was thinking about the whole 'You're not an artist unless you're a starving artist' thing — and then I thought, 'The hell with that!' Once I decided to go for a soap job and make a commitment to it, I got extremely lucky."— on why she got into soaps, Soap Opera Weekly, August 20, 1991
"I was scared to death about doing it, but I was dealing with a great personal life and could afford to put all of my energy into the work. Janet suddenly opened all these doors to acting freedom, the freedom to experiment and play. I began to think about outside work really seriously for the first time in a while." — on taking on a dual role and what led her to leave AMC, Weekly, August 18, 1992.
