Trudy "Tru" Collins is an American actress and indie-pop singer. She is known for her role of Julie on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's original high school comedy, ''

Awkward Awkward may refer to: * Awkwardness or embarrassment, an emotional state of intense discomfort with people * ''Awkward'' (TV series), an American teen comedy series * ''Awkward'' (album), a 2001 album by Ty * ''Awkward'', a 1999 graphic novel by ...

''.

Early life and education

Tru was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, to five-time

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winning television journalist Reid Collins and choreographer Lindy Fisher. She attended Manhattan's

Professional Performing Arts School The Professional Performing Arts School, colloquially known as PPAS, is a public middle and high school in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. History PPAS was created in 1990 to meet the needs of two groups of students: those who wanted t ...

at 15 while studying classical piano and training with

Elaine Kudo Elaine Kudo is a ballet dancer and choreographer. She is the ballet master at the Washington Ballet and was formerly a ballet mistress at the American Repertory Ballet. She danced formerly with the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist, "excellin ...

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. Collins began college with a songwriting scholarship from Universal and studied at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

in New York City.

Career

In 2014, she guest starred on Showtime's period drama ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography ''Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through t ...

'' opposite

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage role ...

, and had a supporting role in ''Spring Awakening'', an indie film set in the late 1800s. Collins has recurred as mean girl Julie on MTV's ''

'' seasons 2–5. In 2017, she featured along with

Hayley Kiyoko Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft (born April 3, 1991) is an American singer, dancer and actress. As a child model and actress, she appeared in a variety of films including ''Scooby-Doo (film series), Scooby-Doo!'' film series (2009–2010), ''Lemonade Mouth ...

in a TV series called '' Insecure''. In 2018, she acted in another TV series, ''

Vida Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to: Geography * Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica * U.S. settled places: ** Vida, Montana ** Vida, Oregon ** Vida, Missour ...

''.

As a singer, she performed with Grammy-winning soul singer Latrice Varrett, opening for

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

at the

Nokia Theatre Times Square Palladium Times Square (formerly PlayStation Theater, Best Buy Theater and Nokia Theatre Times Square) is an indoor live events venue in New York City, located in One Astor Plaza, at the corner of Broadway and 44th Street. It was designed by archi ...

in 2009. In 2010, she joined

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

' multi-platinum progressive rock band

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to ...

as a vocalist, touring arenas across North America and promoting the band performing acoustic guitar/vocal solos live on numerous rock radio stations. That year, TSO reached #12 on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

for American Arena Tours, beating

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. The tour grossed $47,395,108 and sold out 51 arenas. Collins has co-written songs with

Rostrum Records Rostrum Records is an American independent record label initially located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, now located in Los Angeles, California. Benjy Grinberg is the founder and president of the label, which currently has twelve artists on its ros ...

artist Vali and

Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip hop group, they would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mys ...

Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established i ...

, and her work has been featured on various recordings and television soundtracks. In 2012, Collins performed with DJ Ravi Drums, Kitara player Craig Dobbin, and rapper Wes Period at the

Air Canada Centre Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...

Arena in Toronto. In 2015, Collins joined

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

's blues band, Thunderbox, for a European tour and performed with ten-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winner

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

at the Cognac Blues Passion Festival in

Cognac, France Cognac (; Saintongese: ''Cougnat''; oc, Conhac ) is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France. Administratively, the commune of Cognac is a subprefecture of the Charente department. Name The name is believed to be formed from ...

. Her debut solo EP, ''Story of A Gypsy Child'', from producer Jonny on the Rocks of Brooklyn bands Shinobi Ninja and Rocky Business, is set for 2015 release. Her music video for the first single, "Party Dress", was released via YouTube in February 2015.

References

External links

Trans Siberian Orchestra Official WebsiteYoutube.com/TruLoveMusicMyspace.com/TruLoveMusicimdb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Tru Date of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Richmond, Virginia American performance artists American soap opera actresses American film actresses American female dancers American dancers Trans-Siberian Orchestra members 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Year of birth missing (living people)