Kaitlan Collins, who was born in Alabama, began her media career as an entertainment correspondent for The Daily Caller in 2014. Her beat unexpectedly shifted to politics after covering the 2016 US presidential election, which led to her appointment as The Daily Caller’s White House Correspondent in January of 2017. After joining CNN in June 2017, she broke multiple stories about the Trump administration, including important staff departures and policy choices.
Collins also has a sizable social media following, having over 236 thousand Instagram followers and over 12 million Twitter followers as of November 2021.
Early Life
Kaitlan Collins was born on April 7, 1992, in Prattville, Alabama, USA. Her father, Jeff Collins, is a senior mortgage banker in Alabama.
Her family watched largely local news programs; thus, she grew up apolitical. “I think the most national news show that we watched was The Today Show,” she said during an interview.
She attended Prattville High School and then the University of Alabama. At first, she decided to major in chemistry, following in her sister’s footsteps. “I really struggled at the beginning,” she admits. After learning that science was not her strong suit, she decided to give journalism a try. “I’ve always been a big reader; I like to write; maybe I should try my hand at this,” she remembered thinking at the time.
In 2014, she graduated from the same university with degrees in journalism and political science.
Career
Collins went to Washington, DC, after finishing her BA degree and began her journalism career in 2014. She began an eight-week internship with the news and entertainment website, The Daily Caller. In addition, Collins worked on the website’s entertainment area. “I didn’t even know what The Daily Caller was,” she says with a laugh. “I needed a job.” “You have to start somewhere.”
In June 2014, the website employed her as an entertainment correspondent. Her coverage of the 2016 presidential election for the website took an unexpected turn into politics. Despite the unexpected nature of her new responsibilities, she accepted the task.
“I think one of the key aspects of being a good reporter, apart from knowing where the story is and what the news is, is knowing where your skills are best fit, and for me, that was Trump,” she said.
She was completely enthralled when she first stepped into the White House Briefing Room. She found herself thinking about the days when she would be one of the reporters who could raise her hand from the front row and ask questions. In January 2017, The Daily Caller appointed her as a White House correspondent, making her dream a reality.
“The day [Donald Trump] was inaugurated was my first day covering the White House, and it was obviously an adventure that started that day,” she said.
She knew the trek would be arduous and unpleasant. “People who worked in the Trump White House were incredibly manipulative and would straight up lie to you, so you had to filter through that,” she said.
“Then there were the personal attacks, where it wasn’t just the standard fare of an administration thinking they hadn’t been treated fairly, and it got incredibly personal, which, in my opinion, it never should.”
CNN
Collins’ efforts were eventually recognized, and she was invited to appear as a guest on CNN multiple times. She was glad for it, although she wasn’t too interested at first. However, when she met CNN President Jeff Zucker at a White House Correspondents luncheon, she became interested in working for the network. Following that meeting and a few interviews, CNN hired her on June 15, 2017. As a result, her career evolved from working on a website to broadcasting for CNN.
“I had no experience being on television,” Collins admitted in an interview. “I didn’t know how to put on the microphone. I wasn’t familiar with ear pieces. All of these things appear to be simple, yet they are far more intricate.
Later, she faced even greater hurdles, like the White House ban, and honed her journalistic abilities to confront a challenging interviewee like Trump.
“He wants to intimidate and bully [the press] so you don’t ask him what he doesn’t want to get asked about,” she said.
“You must remember to concentrate on the question and seek an answer. “[The ban] really prepared me for that,” she explained.
In January 2021, CNN promoted Collins to chief White House correspondent for the incoming Biden administration, making her the youngest chief White House correspondent in CNN history at the age of 28.
On June 16, 2021, US President Joe Biden responded to a question from Collins at a press conference following his Geneva meeting with Vladimir Putin about his confidence in Putin changing his behavior as he continues to deny cyber attacks and political opposition repression. President Biden acknowledged that this was a distortion of his comments.
Instead, he predicted that Russia’s actions would alter if the rest of the world reacted harshly to them, decreasing their worldwide standing.
Shortly after the chat, President Biden apologized to Collins by approaching a group of reporters on the tarmac and stating he owed her “an apology.”
Ban from White House
On July 25, 2018, CNN reporter Collins made headlines when the White House barred her from attending the president’s event after she asked President Trump about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the president’s former attorney Michael Cohen, claiming her questions were inappropriate for the venue.
She responded by adding, “You’re banning me from an event because you didn’t like the questions I asked.”
Later, CNN, other networks, and the White House Correspondents Association all joined Collins in denouncing the White House’s retaliatory move against him.
Awards and Recognition
Collins was named one of Mediaite’s ’50 Most Influential People in News Media’ for three consecutive years, from 2018 to 2020.
In January 2019, she was designated one of “Crain’s NewsPro’s 12 to Watch in TV News.” The same year, she was named one of Forbes magazine’s ’30 under30: Media.’
Is Kaitlan Collins married?
Collins was in a relationship with Will Douglas, a pharmacist and the founder of Crimson Cre Pharmacy Group, in 2015.
She adored Douglas’ company and had a good relationship with her boyfriend’s brother, Tanner Pierce and his mother, Melinda Douglas. However, their romance could not survive, and it ended in 2017.
Collins has not since provided an update on her married bio, husband, or boyfriend.
