Michelle Collins (comedian)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michelle Elizabeth Collins (née Cikk; born July 9, 1981) is an American comedian and talk show host. Collins came into the entertainment industry as the managing editor of
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
's ''bestweekever.tv'', a
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
website that tied into the series of the same name. The site earned her two
Webby Awards The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...
for Best Celebrity Fan Blog. In 2010, Collins joined as a co-host on the new
LOGO A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...
/VH1 show ''The Gossip Queens'', which was also in limited syndication. She joined ''
The View ''The View'' is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. , in its 28th season, the show has aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC as part of the network's ABC Daytime, daytime programming block since August ...
'' on July 13, 2015, for the 19th season as a co-host. She was let go on June 3, 2016. She hosted her own Sirius XM talk show, ''The Michelle Collins Show'', from 2018 until 2022.


Early life and education

Collins was born on July 9, 1981 in
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
as Michelle Elizabeth Cikk to Judy and Mel Collins, who changed their names when she was a young girl. She has an older brother. Her parents are of Eastern European
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
descent. She graduated from
Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
with a B.A. in art history.


Career

Collins worked as a
legal assistant A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...
prior to becoming a comedian. Collins started as managing editor for
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
's ''
Best Week Ever ''Best Week Ever'' is an American comedy series created and executive produced for VH1 by Fred Graver. The series, which first aired from January 23, 2004, to June 12, 2009, is a spin-off of the '' I Love the...'' series and was renamed ''Best ...
'' website for six years. According to Collins, she broke the story of
Jared Fogle Jared Scott Fogle (; born August 23, 1977) is an American former spokesman for Subway restaurants and convicted sex offender. Fogle appeared in Subway's advertising campaigns from 2000 to 2015 until an FBI investigation led to him being convi ...
's early pornography business during her time writing for the website. She also covered major events such as the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
, the
Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...
and the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
for '' Vanity Fair''. She also contributed to ''
Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...
''. Before joining ''The View'', Collins made regular appearances as a panelist on ''
Chelsea Lately ''Chelsea Lately'' is an American late-night comedy talk show created by Brody Stevens and hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler. The show was produced by Handler's production company (Borderline Amazing Productions), and taped its later years a ...
'', ''
The Joy Behar Show ''Joy Behar: Say Anything!'' is an American news program and talk show hosted by Joy Behar. The program had its "Preview" while Behar filled in as a week-long host on '' Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer'' on June 18, 2012, and officially premiered on ...
'', ''
The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...
'', ''
Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld ''Red Eye'' (also known as ''Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld'' from 2007 to 2015 and ''Red Eye w/ Tom Shillue'' from 2015 to 2017) is an American late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on Fox News, which aired at 3:00 a.m. ET Tuesday throug ...
'', ''
The Wendy Williams Show ''The Wendy Williams Show'' (often shortened to ''Wendy'') is an American Broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show was d ...
'', and various VH1 productions. She also had her own web talk show, ''Martini Minute'', on which she has interviewed celebrities such as
Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...
,
New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block had ...
,
Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, which he formed in 1997 with then-fellow teenager Matt McGinley, afte ...
, and
Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' ...
. Collins also appeared on and wrote for
Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television series, comedy specials and has released multiple comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her rea ...
's talk show. In 2009, she won the ECNY Award for Best Female Standup Comedian in New York, and in the same year she was featured as a "Comedian to Watch" in the magazine ''YRB''. In 2010, she won LOGO's '' NewNowNext Award'' for "Breakout Comic". Collins also performed standup comedy, which she described as "mostly off the cuff and not written".


''The View''

On July 13, 2015, after making several appearances from February of that year, Collins was announced to have signed on as a co-host on ''
The View ''The View'' is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. , in its 28th season, the show has aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC as part of the network's ABC Daytime, daytime programming block since August ...
'' for the nineteenth season. At the time, Collins stated that she had wanted to be on the show since she was four years old. During Collins' tenure on ''The View'', the show was experiencing low ratings and staff turmoil. The show brought in new management and introduced new segment formats, as well as an emphasis on politics due to the 2016 election. According to ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', the new managers did not like Collins' hosting style, which included personal anecdotes, and Collins' subject expertise did not fit with the new political bent of the show. In 2004, Collins co-founded voter mobilization group, ''Votergasm.org''. Collins also received negative audience feedback for two on-air incidents, where she criticized nurses in October 2015, and joked on a segment that presidential candidate Carly Fiorina's face looked "demented" when smiling during a Republican presidential primary debate. By January, Collins' appearances on the show were reduced to one or two segments a week. On June 3, 2016, it was announced that Collins was fired from ''The View'', effective immediately. Collins made a statement confirming her departure from the show on June 17, 2016.


After ''The View,'' Radio shows

On July 13, 2016, a new show hosted by Collins was released on ABC Digital titled ''All My Gay Friends Are Getting Married''. Collins was also announced as the host of '' After Paradise,'' the live after-show of '' Bachelor in Paradise''. Additionally, she hosted two shows on ''Lifetime TV'': ''Little Talk Live'' and ''Date Night Live''. On July 8, 2018, Collins became the host of the new TLC Channel show "90 Day Live". "90 Day Live" is a recep/review show that takes place directly after the weekly show "90 Day Fiancée: Happily Ever After?" on TLC. The show features Michelle giving a recap of that week's show events along with special guests. Collins also appears as a guest host on the ''
Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
''. In March 2018, she began her daily
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
morning show ''The Michelle Collins Show'' on the ''Sirius XM Stars'' channel. The radio show covers pop culture and entertainment, and included interviews with celebrity guests, newsmakers, experts, and reality TV stars. In August 2021, she started broadcasting on the ''Radio Andy'' channel on Sirius XM. Collins hosts a podcast, ''Midnight Snack with Michelle Collins'', which succeeded her previous podcasts ''Fresh Batch'' and ''Edit That Out''. On October 21, 2022, the final episode of her SiriusXM show aired. Soon after she relaunched ''The Michelle Collins Show'' radio show on paid-subscription service Patreon.


Awards and nominations


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Michelle 1981 births Living people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women American television talk show hosts American women comedians Barnard College alumni Jewish American comedians Jewish women comedians People from Miami Beach, Florida Comedians from Florida American people of European-Jewish descent