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Margaret Colin

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Margaret Colin
Colin at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival
Born (1958-05-26) May 26, 1958 (age 67)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1976–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1988)​
Children2

Margaret Colin (born May 26, 1958)[1] is an American actress. She is known for her roles as White House Communications Director Constance Spano in the sci-fi film Independence Day (1996), the originating performer of character Margo Hughes on As the World Turns (1980–1983), and her recurring role as Eleanor Waldorf in the first five seasons of Gossip Girl (2007–2012).

Early life

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Margaret Colin was born in Brooklyn, New York City,[2] and was raised in Baldwin, New York, on Long Island. She is of Irish descent and was raised in a large Catholic family.[3] She graduated from Baldwin Senior High School in 1976, and after attended Hofstra University.[4]

Career

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Colin began her acting career in the soap opera 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, 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.

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 (1991), Independence Day (1996), The Devil's Own (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.[5]

In 2017, Colin appeared as a recurring character throughout the sixth season of the HBO comedy series 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.[6] 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

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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 in the late 1990s.[7]

She is an anti-abortion activist and was formerly the honorary co-chair of Feminists for Life, an organization opposed to abortion.[8] Colin is an honorary board member of the group Feminists for Nonviolent Choices.[9]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 Pretty in Pink English Teacher
1986 Something Wild Irene
1987 Like Father Like Son Ginnie Armbruster
1987 Three Men and a Baby Rebecca
1989 True Believer Kitty Greer
1990 Martians Go Home Sara Brody
1991 The Butcher's Wife Robyn Graves
1993 Amos & Andrew Judy Gillman
1994 Terminal Velocity Joline 'Jo' Uncredited
1996 Independence Day Constance Spano
1996 Milk & Money Lorraine
1997 The Devil's Own Sheila O'Meara
1997 Time to Say Goodbye? Kristen Hamstra
1998 The Adventures of Sebastian Cole Joan Cole
2002 Blue Car Diane
2002 Unfaithful Sally
2004 First Daughter Melanie MacKenzie
2006 A Broken Sole Nan
2007 Happenstance Beth Short film
2008 Deception Ms. Pomerantz
2008 iMurders Carol Uberoth
2009 The Missing Person Lana Cobb
2012 Camilla Dickinson Mona Rowan
2012 Backwards Mrs. Brooks
2014 Kelly & Cal Janice
2014 You Must Be Joking Linda Schwartz
2015 Stealing Chanel Constance Borden
2016 Equity Attorney Cahn
2022 The Road to Galena Margaret Kenney

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1979 The Edge of Night Paige Madison Series regular, daily soap opera
1980–83 As the World Turns Margo Hughes Series regular, daily soap opera
1985–86 Foley Square Alex Harrigan Main cast
1987 Leg Work Claire McCarron Main cast
1987 The Return of Sherlock Holmes Jane Watson TV movie
1987 Warm Hearts, Cold Feet Amy Webster TV movie
1988 Magnum, P.I. Connie Northrop Episode: "Legend of the Lost Art"
1989 Traveling Man Joanna Reath TV movie
1990 Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston Michelle Caruso TV movie
1991–92 Sibs Audie Ruscio Main cast
1994 Related by Birth Audie Ruscio Television special
1994 Chicago Hope Dr. Karen Antonovich 5 episodes
1995 In the Shadow of Evil Molly Nostrand TV movie
1995 The Wright Verdicts Sandy Hamor Main cast
1999 Hit & Run Joanna Kendall TV movie
1999 Swing Vote Linda Kirkland TV movie
1999–2000 Now and Again Lisa Wiseman Main cast
2000 Madigan Men Vonda Madigan Episode: "Pilot"
2001 Private Lies Ellen TV movie
2001 The Familiar Stranger Elizabeth 'Peachy' Welsh TV movie
2001 The Wedding Dress Madeline Carver TV movie
2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Mrs. Krug Episode: "Tortured"
2004 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Dr. Eloise Barnes Episode: "Shrink-Wrapped"
2007–12 Gossip Girl Eleanor Waldorf Recurring role (seasons 1–5), guest appearance (season 6)
2009 Royal Pains Lucy Everett Episode: "Strategic Planning"
2010 Law & Order Mary Markson Episode: "Four Cops Shot"
2010 Medium Kelly Shuler Episode: "It's a Wonderful Death"
2012 Blue Bloods Melanie Maines Episode: "Women with Guns"
2012 Nurse Jackie Trish 2 episodes
2013 The Good Wife Rochelle Episode: "The Seven Day Rule"
2013 Elementary Natalie Gale Episode: "Blood Is Thicker"
2014 Gotham Taylor Reece Episode: "Viper"
2015 Madam Secretary Judith Fanning Season 2 Episode 7: "Catch and Release"
2017–2019 Veep Jane McCabe Recurring role (season 6), guest appearances (season 7)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2017–2018 Shades of Blue Linda Wozniak Recurring role (seasons 2–3)
2019 The Enemy Within Evelyn Bell Episode: "Sequestered"
2019 The I-Land Dr. Stevenson 2 episodes
2021 Chicago Med Carol Conte Recurring role (season 6)
2021, 2023 Gossip Girl Eleanor Waldorf 2 episodes (sequel series)
2022 Three Wise Men and a Baby Barbara Brenner TV movie
2024 Three Wiser Men and a Boy Barbara Brenner TV movie

References

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  1. ^ "Margaret Colin". Playbill. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Joanne (June 23, 2017). "A Brooklyn-Born Actress Rediscovers New York". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Margaret Colin:Biography". MSN. Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2010-05-12. Born in Brooklyn to a large Irish-Catholic family and raised on Long Island, Colin began acting in elementary school.
  4. ^ DeWalt, Kellie (2009). "Former Hofstra Student Now a "Gossip Girl"". Hofstra Pulse. Hofstra University. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  5. ^ New York Post, April 4, 2003
  6. ^ "Nominees and Recipients for the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". sagawards.com. Screen Actors Guild. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  7. ^ Klein, Alvin (1998-02-22). "Baldwin Girl Finds Camelot (on Broadway)". N.Y./Region. The New York Times. p. LI14. Archived from the original on 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2025-06-26. A year and a half ago the couple, married 10 years, and their sons, Sam, 8, and Joe, 4, moved from an apartment in Manhattan to "a mansion for the money" in Upper Montclair, New Jersey.
  8. ^ "Margaret Colin Says More Risky Abortions Are Not the Answer for Our Daughters…" (Press release). Feminists for Life. May 2, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Kolko, Cynthia (2015-03-12) [March 11, 2015]. "Actress Margaret Colin featured at feminist event". Democrat and Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
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