Viola Lynn Collins (born May 16, 1977) is an American actress. She made television appearances in True Blood and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and is recognized for her roles in films such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine and John Carter.
Collins was born in Houston, Texas, and has English, Scottish, Irish, and Cherokee ancestry. She spent her formative years in Singapore, with "summers in Japan where her parents were getting their fourth and fifth and sixth dan in Shitō-ryū ... Okinawa-style karate". During a childhood Christmas pageant in which she played Mrs. Claus, Collins discovered her love for acting.
She attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division (Group 28: 1995–1999) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Collins made her television debut in 1999, in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and went on to star onstage as Ophelia opposite Liev Schreiber in Hamlet, followed by a turn as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. After bit parts that included a stint on the show Haunted and roles in the movies Down with Love, 50 First Dates and 13 Going on 30, she gained notice playing Portia in the film The Merchant of Venice, starring opposite Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons.