Kate Collins (born May 6, 1959) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the character of

Natalie Marlowe Natalie Marlowe Dillon is a fictional character from the daytime soap opera, ''All My Children''. The role was originated by Kate Collins in 1985. Collins continued as Natalie until August 17, 1992. Melody Anderson replaced Collins when she left ...

on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' from 1985 to 1992.

Early life and education

Collins was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

She is the eldest child of astronaut

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

, who served as Command Module Pilot on the historic

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

mission (the first human

Moon landing A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959. The United St ...

) in 1969. She graduated from

National Cathedral School National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls in grades 4–12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by philanthropist and suffragist Phoe ...

and studied theater at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, graduating in 1981.

Career

After college, she worked in a number of regional theater groups and appeared in off-Broadway productions of ''The Danube'', ''Blood Moon'' and ''Clarissa''. In 1990, she starred in the soap opera spoof theatrical play ''Quiet on the Set''. Collins has guest starred on the daytime soap operas ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'', ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...

'' and '' Another World''. She was cast for ''All My Children'' in 1985 during her performances in the Broadway play ''Doubles''. She left ''All My Children'' in 1992, and the role was recast with

Melody Anderson Melody Anderson (born December 3, 1955) is a Canadian retired actress, social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families. As an actress, her most high-profile role was playing Dale Arden in the 1980 adaptation ...

. The character was subsequently killed off on June 22, 1993. Collins returned to the show in 1997, 1998, and 2001 as Natalie's "spirit." She also played the role of Natalie's mentally ill sister, Janet Green, from 1991 to 1992 and 2005 to 2007, and again in 2010 and 2011. Collins also guest-starred on ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'' and co-hosted ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' in 1989, where she substituted for regular host

Joan Lunden Joan Lunden (born Joan Elise Blunden on September 19, 1950) is an American journalist, an author, and a television host. Lunden was the co-host of ABC's ''Good Morning America'' from 1980 to 1997, and has authored eight books. She has appeared on ...

Personal life

She married Charles Newell, who is the artistic director of the Court Theatre in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in October 1992. They have two sons and live in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Kate 1959 births Living people American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Boston Actresses from Washington, D.C. Michael Collins (astronaut) 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses