| Intro | Comedian |
| Is | Comedian |
| Type | Humor |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 9 July 1981, Miami Beach |
| Age: | 39 years |
Michelle Elizabeth Collins (born Michelle Elizabeth Cikk; July 9, 1981) is an American comedian and talk show host. Collins came into the entertainment industry as the managing editor of VH1’s bestweekever.tv, a pop culture website that tied into the series of the same name. The site earned her two Webby Awards for Best Celebrity Fan Blog. In 2010, Collins joined as a co-host on the new LOGO/VH1 show The Gossip Queens, which was also in limited syndication. She joined The View on July 13, 2015 for the 19th season as a co-host. She was fired on June 3, 2016, effective immediately. She is currently a co-host of Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise, an after-show for Bachelor in Paradise.
Early life
Collins was born on July 9, 1981 in Miami Beach, Florida as Michelle 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 descent.
Career
Career beginnings
Before coming to The View, she made regular appearances as a panelist on Chelsea Lately, The Joy Behar Show, The Tyra Banks Show, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld, and various VH1 productions. She also had her own web talk show, Martini Minute, on which she has interviewed celebrities such as Adam Lambert, New Kids on the Block, Travie McCoy, and Jessica Simpson. 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”.
The View
On July 13, 2015, after making several guest appearances, Collins was announced as a permanent co-host on The View. On September 14, 2015, Collins and co-host Joy Behar were taken to task following controversial jokes and remarks about Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson’s performance in the Miss America competition, in which she delivered a monologue about being a nurse, with Collins mocking the contestant’s performance and Behar asking why she was wearing a doctor’s stethoscope. Behar later clarified that she hadn’t realized the contestant was actually a nurse. On September 16, 2015, Collins and Behar apologized, however many critics of the show called the apology insincere. This controversy has caused the Nurses Unite hashtag boycott of the show, Collins, and Behar.
Collins again was met with criticism for her comments during the 2015 Republican debate analysis by joking that Carly Fiorina’s smile during the debate looked “demented.”
On the show, Collins expressed her support for Hillary Clinton by coining the hashtag: #BitchCommits.
For her work on The View, she was nominated along with her co-hosts for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.
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 via Instagram.
After The View
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.