Lauren Felice Collins is a Canadian actress that is perhaps best known for portraying Paige Michalchuk

Paige Michalchuk

Paige Michalchuk is a fictional character in the TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation, portrayed by Lauren Collins.Paige was initially presented as the stereotypical "Queen bee": rich, snobby, and popular...

 on Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...

.

Life and career

Collins was born in Thornhill, Ontario

Thornhill, Ontario

Thornhill is a community in the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the northern border of the city of Toronto. Once a municipal village, Thornhill is now a community and postal designation geographically split into two municipalities along Yonge Street, the city of...

, the daughter of Sari (née Bresver) and Stan Collins. Her father was born in London, England. Collins was raised Jewish. She has one brother, a copy editor, and her first cousin once removed is Spencer Rice

Spencer Rice

Spencer "Spenny" Nolan Rice is a Canadian writer, director, producer, and comedian. He was the co-star of Kenny vs. Spenny along with Kenny Hotz.-Personal life:...

, one of the stars of Kenny vs Spenny. She is a graduate of Thornlea Secondary School

Thornlea Secondary School

Thornlea Secondary School is a public high school that opened in 1968 and is located in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, on the north east corner Bayview Avenue and Willowbrook Road, just south of Highway 407....

.

Collins first began acting in 1998, with roles in various television series including Once a Thief

Once a Thief (TV series)

Once a Thief was a 1997 Canadian television show inspired by the 1996 film of the same name.-Premise:...

, Noddy, and I Was a Sixth Grade Alien

I Was a Sixth Grade Alien

I Was a Sixth Grade Alien was a live-action/comedy television show following the chronicles of Pleskit, a purple skinned, blue haired alien with an antenna positioned on his head. He tries to fit in and make some friends but due to his strange appearance he doesn't succeed very well...

. From 2000 to 2001, she had a recurring role on In a Heartbeat

In a Heartbeat

In a Heartbeat is a Disney Channel Original Series inspired by real life EMT squads whose staff consists of high school students located all over the country that premiered in 2000 and ran from 2000-2001. The series follows the lives of several teenagers who volunteer as part-time EMTs while going...

 before landing the role of Paige Michalchuk on Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...

 in 2001. She also portrayed Derek's ex-girlfriend Kendra on Life with Derek

Life with Derek

Life with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005 and ran for four seasons ending on March 25, 2009. The series starred Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat as the...

. She has also appeared in numerous theatrical productions, playing the title roles in Alice in Wonderland and the production of Annie

Annie (musical)

Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...

, and starring in the made-for-television film Virtual Mom. She has been a member of CharActors Theatre Troupe, a children's community theater company, for over five years.

In 2006, Collins made her feature film debut in Take the Lead

Take the Lead

Take the Lead is a movie starring Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco, Marcus T. Paulk, Jenna Dewan, Lauren Collins and also features former America's Next Top Model contestant, Yaya DaCosta. The film was released in mainstream cinema on April 7, 2006...

, appearing alongside Antonio Banderas

Antonio Banderas

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...

. The following year she appeared in Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Bartlett is a 2008 comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular....

. In 2008, she co-starred in the direct-to-DVD

Direct-to-video

Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

 feature Picture This, opposite Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...

.

After YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 celebrity Shane Dawson

Shane Dawson

Shane Dawson is an American YouTube actor and comedian. Dawson is known for making comedy videos featuring many recurring characters , impersonations , and spoofs of popular music videos and television shows...

 expressed his interest in watching the Degrassi series', Collins starred in a parody video released March 6, 2010.

She will work once again with Disney Channel

Disney Channel

Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

 and Tisdale on the newest installment of High School Musical

High School Musical

High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...

s Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, playing the role of Tiffany.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Valentine's Day	Young Alma	Television movie
1998	Real Kids, Real Adventures	Meggie	1 episode
1998	Blood on Her Hands	Ruby Collins	Television movie
1998	Once a Thief Once a Thief (TV series) Once a Thief was a 1997 Canadian television show inspired by the 1996 film of the same name.-Premise:...	Cleo at 13	1 episode
1998	Tempting Fate	Ruby	Television movie
1998	Happy Christmas, Miss King	Libby Hubble	Television movie
1998–1999	Noddy	Rox	3 episodes
1999	Rocky Marciano	Mary Anne	Television movie
1999	I Was a Sixth Grade Alien I Was a Sixth Grade Alien I Was a Sixth Grade Alien was a live-action/comedy television show following the chronicles of Pleskit, a purple skinned, blue haired alien with an antenna positioned on his head. He tries to fit in and make some friends but due to his strange appearance he doesn't succeed very well...	Lindy Mae	2 episodes
1999	Restless Spirits	Rhonda	Television movie
2000	Virtual Mom	Lucy Foster	Television movie
2000	Deliberate Intent	Erin Smolla	Television movie
2000	Baby	Portia Pinter	Television movie
2000–2001	In a Heartbeat In a Heartbeat In a Heartbeat is a Disney Channel Original Series inspired by real life EMT squads whose staff consists of high school students located all over the country that premiered in 2000 and ran from 2000-2001. The series follows the lives of several teenagers who volunteer as part-time EMTs while going...	Brooke Lanier	18 episodes
2001	What Girls Learn	Susie	Television movie
2001–2008	Degrassi: The Next Generation Degrassi: The Next Generation Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...	Paige Michalchuk	143 episodes
2003	Blue Murder	Shannon Brady	1 episode
2003	Mutant X Mutant X (TV series) Mutant X is a science fiction television series that debuted on October 6, 2001. The show was created by Marvel Studios, and it centers around Mutant X, a team of "New Mutants" who possess extraordinary powers as a result of genetic engineering. The members of Mutant X were used as test subjects...	Megan Morrison	1 episode
2003	The Eleventh Hour	Sara Chase	1 episode
2004	Renegadepress.com	Amanda	1 episode
2005	Totally Spies!	Voice	2 episodes
2005	Radio Free Roscoe Radio Free Roscoe Radio Free Roscoe was a Canadian television series filmed in Toronto, Ontario. The show was produced by Decode Entertainment, and it first aired on 1 August 2003 on Family, in Canada. It has also been dubbed in French in the province of Quebec and aired on VRAK.TV...	Blaire	2 episodes
2006	Take the Lead Take the Lead Take the Lead is a movie starring Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco, Marcus T. Paulk, Jenna Dewan, Lauren Collins and also features former America's Next Top Model contestant, Yaya DaCosta. The film was released in mainstream cinema on April 7, 2006...	Caitlin
2006	Booky Makes Her Mark Booky Makes Her Mark Booky Makes Her Mark is a made-for-TV movie that is based on the books by Bernice Thurman Hunter. This uplifting family film also features beloved Canadian actors Megan Follows , Roberta Maxwell and Lally Cadeau...	Ada-May	Television movie
2006	Angela's Eyes Angela's Eyes Angela's Eyes is an American drama that premiered on July 16, 2006 on Lifetime TV and ran for 13 episodes. The show aired Sundays at 10 pm. Lifetime announced that the show would not be picked up for a second season....	Heather Keene	1 episode
2006–2009	Life with Derek Life with Derek Life with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005 and ran for four seasons ending on March 25, 2009. The series starred Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat as the...	Kendra	10 episodes
2007	Grossology Grossology (TV series) Grossology is a Canadian animated television series produced by Nelvana, and based loosely on the non-fictional children’s book series of the same name by Sylvia Branzei. It debuted on the YTV network in Canada on September 29, 2006, and was first shown on Discovery Kids in the United States on...	Naomi (Voice)	2 episodes
2007	Charlie Bartlett Charlie Bartlett Charlie Bartlett is a 2008 comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular....	Kelly
2007–2009	The Best Years The Best Years (TV series) The Best Years is a Canadian teen drama series set in Boston, Massachusetts. The series was created by producer and writer of Degrassi: The Next Generation, Aaron Martin...	Alicia O'Sullivan	2 seasons
2008	Picture This	Alexa	Direct-to-DVD release
2009	Degrassi Goes Hollywood Degrassi Goes Hollywood Paradise City: Degrassi Goes Hollywood is a 2009 Canadian film adaptation of the popular, long-running teenage drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. The movie premiered in the United States on The N on 14 August 2009, and in Canada on CTV on 30 August 2009. It was directed by veteran Degrassi...	Paige Michalchuk	Television movie
2011	Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure	Tiffani	Direct-to-DVD release
2011	"Being Erica"	Barbera Strange (young)	1 episode

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
2004	Gemini Award Gemini Award The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...	Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series	Renegadepress.com (For episode "Skin Deep")
2008	Gemini Award	Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series	Degrassi: The Next Generation (For episode "Talking in Your Sleep")
2002	Young Artist Award Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...	Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)	Degrassi: The Next Generation (Shared with cast)
2003	Young Artist Award	Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)	Degrassi: The Next Generation (Shared with cast)
2006	Young Artist Award	Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)	Degrassi: The Next Generation (Shared with cast)

External links