Birthdate: May 16, 1977
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA
Viola Lynn Collins was born in Houston, Texas, to Patricia Lynn (Campbell) and Phillip Dean Collins. She attended the Juilliard School for Drama and had a great deal of Shakespearean training before being cast as 'Portia' in 'The Merchant of Venice'. She also played 'Ophelia' in a production of 'Hamlet' in New York, and was 'Juliet' in Peter Hall's 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Ahmanson theatre in Los Angeles.