Stephen Collins

Stephen Collins, born October 1, 1947, in Des Moines, Iowa, is an American former actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television from the late 1960s through the mid-2010s. The son of Madeleine (née Robertson) and Cyrus Stickney Collins, an airline executive, he grew up with two older brothers in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Collins attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he graduated cum laude, played bass guitar in several bands, and sang with the Amherst College Zumbyes.

His stage career began in 1968 and continued through 2005, with Broadway appearances that included a starring role in The Loves of Anatol as well as credits in Moonchildren, Censored Scenes From King Kong, and No Sex Please, We're British. On screen, he first gained wide attention playing Commander Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, and around the same time took on the role of pilot Jake Cutter in the ABC cult series Tales of the Gold Monkey. His television work in the 1980s included a lead role opposite Lauren Hutton in The Rhinemann Exchange (1977), based on Robert Ludlum's novel, and an Emmy nomination for his performance alongside Ann-Margret in the 1987 miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. He portrayed John F. Kennedy in the 1991 miniseries A Woman Named Jackie, which won the Emmy Award for Best Miniseries. Guest appearances during this period included The Waltons, Barnaby Jones, and Charlie's Angels, among others.

In film, Collins received above-the-title billing in the 1980 feature Loving Couples alongside Shirley MacLaine, James Coburn, and Susan Sarandon. He co-starred with Diane Keaton in both The First Wives Club (1996) and Because I Said So (2007), and appeared with Meredith Baxter in All the President's Men as well as the two CBS television films A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story and Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter, both broadcast in 1992.

Collins became most widely recognized for his portrayal of Eric Camden in the WB and later CW drama series 7th Heaven, a role he held from 1996 to 2007. Subsequent television work included the role of Dayton King in the ABC series No Ordinary Family during the 2010–11 season, a recurring part on Brothers & Sisters as a potential love interest for Ron Rifkin's character Saul Holden, and an appearance in season eight of The Office as Andy Bernard's father in the episode "Garden Party." Beginning in 2013, he appeared in the NBC series Revolution as Dr. Gene Porter, the leader of the town of Willoughby and father of Rachel Matheson, played by Elizabeth Mitchell. He also appeared in two episodes of Falling Skies in its third season, with later guest credits on The Fosters, Devious Maids, and Penance.

In his personal life, Collins was married to Marjorie Weinman from 1970 to 1978. He met actress Faye Grant on the set of Tales of the Gold Monkey in 1982 and married her in 1985; the couple have a daughter, Kate, born in 1989. They separated in 2012, and a final divorce decree was issued in January 2015. Collins is an Episcopalian and has practiced Transcendental Meditation since at least 1980, including the advanced Yogic Flying technique. He served as a national co-director of the Committee for Stress-Free Schools until October 2014. His nephew is Max Collins, frontman of the band Eve 6.

In October 2014, the New York City Police Department opened an investigation into Collins after an audio recording was leaked to the media in which a male voice, identified as Collins, described past sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 14. The Los Angeles Police Department noted it had investigated a separate claim against Collins in 2012 but stated it was unable to substantiate that allegation. In a December 2014 interview with People magazine, Collins admitted to inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors, incidents he placed in 1973, 1982, and 1994. His career ended following these admissions. The abuses were later examined in an episode of the 2025 documentary series Hollywood Demons.