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Margaret Colin is a Saturn Award-winning American actress, who is probably best known for her performance in the films “The Devil’s Own,” “First Daughter,” and “Independence Day” and the TV drama series “Gossip Girl.”
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Margaret Colin hails from Brooklyn, New York City, and was born under the Gemini zodiac sign on 26 May 1958, which makes her 65 years old as of 2023. She spent her childhood days in Baldwin, New York, and was brought up in a tight-knit Roman Catholic family. Her dad was a New York City-based police officer – she has not revealed the names of her parents who are Irish, but she has a brother named John Colin who is a special education teacher for one of New York City’s schools.
Colin attended a local elementary school in Baldwin, and she received her high school education at Baldwin Senior School. She is an alumnus of Hofstra University, which is situated in Hempstead, New York, graduating with a BA in Drama in 1980.
Hobbies and Interests
Colin often speaks against abortion, and was a former honorary co-chair of the anti-abortion non-profit organization, Feminist for Life. She is also a board member of the organization, Feminists for Nonviolent Choices.
Since she launched her acting career, Colin has been keen on traveling, and has toured nearly all the states in the US. She has also toured various Asian nations including Japan and China. and European countries such as England and France.
The Brooklyn native is an animal lover whose favorite pets are horses. She has donated money to and volunteered at many animal shelters.
Career – TV Appearance
Colin made her TV debut with an appearance in the soap opera, “The Edge of Night,” in which she played a former terrorist named Paige Madison. She appeared in 21 episodes in 1979, and in her seventh month in the show, her character, Paige, survived at least seven murder attempts, and married her stepbrother. Her next role was in the long-running CBS soap opera, “As the World Turns,” in which she portrayed Margo Hughes from July 1980 to October 1983. Before the ‘90s, she was cast for the starring roles of Alex and Claire in the sitcom “Foley Square” (1985 and 1986) and crime drama “Leg Work” (1987).
In 1991 and 1992, Margaret starred in the ABC sitcom, “Sibs,” which was followed by appearances in Dick Wolf’s drama “The Wright Verdict” in 1995, and the sci-fi comedy-drama “Now and Again” in 1999 and 2000. Margaret played minor roles in single episodes of three TV series in the early 2000s, before landing one of her most significant roles as Eleanor Waldorf-Rose, who is Blair Waldorf’s (played by Leighton Meester) often critical and cold-hearted mom in the teen drama “Gossip Girl,” which is based on Cecily von Ziegesar’s eponymous novel, and follows the daily lives of privileged teens living in the Upper East Side. She appeared in 33 episodes between 2007 and 2012, and shared the screen with Blake Lively, Ed Westwick, Meester and Penn Badgley.
Margaret’s next notable role was in the HBO political satire comedy “Veep,” in which she played Jane McCabe in nine episodes from 2017 to 2019. She is also credited with her appearance in the drama “Shades of Blue” (2017 and ‘18) and “Chicago Med” in 2021.
Film Appearances
Colin made her film debut as an English teacher in the 1986 teen romantic comedy-drama “Pretty in Pink”, then in the year that followed, she appeared alongside Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore in the fantasy-comedy “Like Father Like Son.” Her next noteworthy appearance was in the 1994 action film “Terminal Velocity” and the 1996 sci-fi, “Independence Day,” which starred the likes of Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman, and follows a disparate group of survivors who converge in a desert in Nevada, after the world is attacked by a very powerful extraterrestrial race. Margaret is also credited for starring in the 1997 action thriller “The Devil’s Own,” which was the final movie directed by Alan Pakula.
Colin appeared in 11 films in the 2000s including the erotic thrillers, “Unfaithful” (2002) and “Deception” (2008). She was cast for minor roles in various films in the 2010s including “Camila Dickinson” and the Anna Gunn-starred financial thriller “Equity” in 2016. Most recently in 2022, Colin played Barbara Brenner in the television film “Three Wise Men and a Baby.”
Other Works
Colin has appeared in numerous documentary films such as “Independence Day: The ID4 Invasion” and “Gimme a Sign: Engineering Now and Again.” She has also made guest appearances in several talk shows including “Entertainment Tonight, Canada,” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”
Awards and Nominations
Colin scooped a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress for her performance in “Now and Again” in 2000. Her performance in “Veep” brought her a joint Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2018. Moreover, she was nominated for a Viewers for Quality Television Award (simply known as the Q Award) for her performance in “Chicago Hope” in 1995.
Personal Life
Colin is married to the multiple Daytime Emmy Award-winning American actor, Justin Deas.
The duo met on the sets of the CBS soap opera “As the World Turns,” in which he portrayed her lover, Tom Hughes. Deas was born on 30 March 1948 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and is 10 years older than Colin. He’s probably best known for predominantly appearing in soap operas, and some of his film appearances are in “Dream Lover” in 1986, “iMurders” in 2008, and “BLUE LIVES MATTER” in 2017. Colin and Deas dated for several years before walking the aisle in January 1988. They have welcomed two sons, Joe Deas and Sam Deas. The family relocated to Upper Montclair, New Jersey, in the ‘90s.
Colin’s husband was previously married to the actress, Jody Catlin, who is known for her appearances in “Ryan’s Hope” (1975), “Dollman (1991), and “The Count” (2021) from 1968 to 1978. From his union with Catlin, Deas welcomed a daughter named Yvie Dea, so Colin is Yvie’s stepmother.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Colin is White, has a pair of dark brown eyes and long dark brown hair. She has an hourglass body, weighs around 145lbs (66kgs), and is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall. The “Independence Day” starlet’s vital statistics are 34-25-35 and she wears shoe and dress sizes 8(US) and 4(US) respectively.
Net Worth
Colin has accumulated a good sum from her acting career, which has spanned over three decades. She has become popular for her appearances in various successful movies such as “Independence Day,” which had a box office collection of over $817 million, and “Terminal Velocity,” which grossed around $47 million. The Brooklyn-born actress is worth around $10 million as of 2023. On the other hand, her husband, Deas, is worth approximately $5 million.
