Margaret Colin
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Margaret Colin (born May 26, 1958) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Margo Hughes on '' As the World Turns'' and as Eleanor Waldorf-Rose on '' Gossip Girl''.


Early life

Margaret Colin was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York City, and was raised in
Baldwin, New York Baldwin is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 818 at the 2020 census. The town name is derived from Thomas and Waterman Baldwin, two of the earliest settlers of the area. The town is east of Elmira. It is par ...
, on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
. She is of
Irish descent The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been ...
and was raised in a Catholic family; She graduated from Baldwin Senior High School in 1976, and after attended
Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...
.


Career

Colin began her acting career in the
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...
'' 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 Foley Square, also called Federal Plaza, is a street intersection in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, which contains a small triangular park named Thomas Paine Park. The space is bordered by Worth Street to t ...
'', '' 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 abetting a 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 Florencia Lozano (born December 16, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Téa Delgado on the daytime series ''One Life to Live''. Lozano has guest-starred in several primetime television shows, as well as films. Early life Florencia L ...
. Colin has also been in a number of films, some of the most well-known including '' Something Wild'' (1986), '' Three Men and a Baby'' (1987), ''
The Butcher's Wife ''The Butcher's Wife'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy film, directed by Terry Hughes and starring Demi Moore and Jeff Daniels. The film concerns a clairvoyant woman (Moore) thinks that she's met her future husband, whom she has seen in her d ...
'' (1991), '' Independence Day'' (1996), ''
The Devil's Own ''The Devil's Own'' is a 1997 American action thriller film starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt, with Rubén Blades, Natascha McElhone, Julia Stiles, Margaret Colin, and Treat Williams in supporting roles. It was the final film directed by Ala ...
'' (1997), '' 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. In 2017, Colin appeared as a recurring character throughout the sixth season of the HBO comedy series ''
Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom '' The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep ...
'', playing fictional CBS News anchor Jane McCabe. Along with her fellow cast members, Colin won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. In 2019, she reprised her role as McCabe in the seventh season premiere of ''Veep'' and again in the series finale. Colin performed on Broadway as Mrs. Mullin in the 2018 revival of '' Carousel''.


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 Upper Montclair is a census-designated place (CDP), unincorporated community and neighborhood within Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for the CDP was 11,565.
in the late 1990s. She is an anti-abortion activist and was formerly the honorary co-chair of
Feminists for Life Feminists for Life of America (FFL) is a non-profit, anti-abortion feminist, non-governmental organization (NGO). Established in 1972, and now based in Alexandria, Virginia, the organization publishes a biannual magazine, ''The American Feminist'' ...
, an organization opposed to abortion. Colin is an honorary board member of the group Feminists for Nonviolent Choices.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colin, Margaret 1958 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American film actresses American people of Irish descent American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Hofstra University alumni People from Brooklyn People from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York People from Montclair, New Jersey Theatre World Award winners