Pulling At The Heartstrings

Jessica Collins has a lot to be thankful for, from a new Netflix series to a very happy home life

- Stephanie Sloane

After giving birth to her first daughter, Jemma, in 2016, Jessica Collins decided to take a break from acting. “I wanted to be with her,” explains the actress. “So I made the decision not to work.” She didn’t make it lightly, though. “I was really nervous,” Collins confesses. “First of all, I’ve been working since I was 17 in show business and I have never taken a break. Maybe I’ve taken a week for vacation, but I’ve never taken time off. It was a very unfamiliar feeling for me. I’ve spent my life either working or looking for work.”

She slowly made her return, appearing in both an episode of 9-1-1 and then GREY’S ANATOMY in 2018. “It was weird going back,” she shares. “I was really nervous that I forgot everything. I couldn’t believe when I first got on set. It really is like riding a bike at this point. I think a show like YOUNG AND RESTLESS, I don’t know how many episodes I did, but it was hundreds, for sure. I think after doing something like that, that just whips you into a whole different kind of actor. It hasn’t left, and that was nice to know. It was really wonderful to go back to work. I dipped my toe in in the beginning and I started slow ’cause I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to just completely desert my kid either and go right back to work. But it’s been a nice pace for me to do.”