Jessica Collins

With blonde hair, blue eyes, and an athletic 5'7" frame, Jessica Collins carries the grace of a former beauty queen into every role she takes. She is an American actress and author, born in Schenectady, New York, where she first made her mark as a teenager. In 1988, she won the Miss New York Teen USA title and placed as the first runner-up at the Miss Teen USA Pageant that same year, a feat that would launch her career in the public eye.

Collins found her footing as an actress on daytime television, playing Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera Loving. She later appeared as Meredith Davies on the Fox Network's Tru Calling and took on the role of Lauren in the Lionsgate thriller Open House. Her most prominent role to date is attorney Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, a part she has played for several years. Beyond performing, she has also authored works. Collins has been active in the industry since 1990, giving her over three decades of experience on screen.

Her personal life has seen its share of milestones. She married Robert Tyler in November 1996, and the couple divorced in February 2002. In May 2016, she married writer and producer Michael Cooney, with whom she shares a daughter born in January of that year. Throughout her long career, Jessica Collins has balanced leading roles on serial dramas with a family life, remaining a familiar face to soap opera audiences and a presence on social media with tens of thousands of followers.