Kaitlan Collins Biography
Kaitlan Collins is CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent and anchor of ‘The Source’. She made history in 2017 as the youngest CNN White House Correspondent at the age of 28. In 2019, she was named forbes ’30 under 30: Media.’ In addition, she has made Mediate’s Most Influential People in News Media list four times in the last five years.
She began her career at the Daily Caller, a right-wing website co-founded by Tucker Carlson, as an entertainment reporter. She was then promoted just after two years to cover the 2016 campaign and in early 2017, she became a White House correspondent. Soon after she started getting booked for occasional talking-head appearances on CNN. In 2017, while at a White House Correspondents dinner, she met with then CNN’s president Jeff Zucker and thanked him for all the opportunities to appear on the network. From the meeting, it turned into some interviews and was hired a month later.
Kaitlan Collins Age, Height, Early Life, Parents
Kaitlan was born on April 7, 1992 in Prattville, Alabama to Jeff Collins Sr. and Tina Collins. Her father is a senior mortgage banker in Alabama. She was brought up alongside her four siblings: Annalise, Kelsey, Brayden, and Cole. She was brought up in a apolitical household and says her parents taught her “the political system in the U.S. is a failed one”. They also didn’t vote nor expressed their views on political candidates. She stands at a height of 5 feet 8 inches tall.
Education
Collins attended Prattville High School in Prattville, Alabama and later joined the University of Alabama graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science. She first chose to major in chemistry trying to follow in her sister’s footsteps but after realizing she was not so good in science she gave journalism a try.
Who is Kaitlan Collins Married to?
Kaitlan is not married and keeps her personal life under wraps. She previously dated Will Douglas from 2015 to 2017 who is now married. Will is a pharmacist who owns Cody Drug & Prescription pharmacy as well as Crimson Care Pharmacy Group. In addition, he is a conservative who run for Texas House District 113 in 2020 but was defeated by Rhetta Andrews Bowers.
Kaitlan Collins CNN
Career Highlights
- She was elected to serve as President of the White House Correspondents Association for the 2024-2025 but she reliquished the position after moving to New York.
- On May 10, 2023 she moderated CNN’s live Republican Presidential Town Hall with Donald Trump, which was his first town hall-style event of the 2024 presidential campaign.
- She had an exclusive interview with former Vice President Mike Pence about President Trump’s second term for the first time.
- Her other notable exclusive interviews with politicians includes with Secretary Hillary Clinton, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary Marco Rubio, Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney Marc Agnifilo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kaitlan Collins Controversies
In 2018, Kaitlan issued an apology after anti-gay slurs from her Twitter as a college student in 2011 resurfaced. She had used used the word “fag” and questioned whether she wanted a room with a lesbian. She issued a public apology saying; “When I was in college, I used ignorant language in a few tweets to my friends. It was immature but it doesn’t represent the way I feel at all. I regret it and apologize.”
In 2018, she was barred from a Rose Garden press event after asking President Donald Trump about about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s postponed visit and the released tapes documenting a conversation with his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen. Her questions were deemed inappropriate for that venue.
In 2015, while appearing on FOX News when discussing George Soros, she included “white replacement theory”. “OK so, George Soros is this foreign-born left-wing guy who essentially wants to change the nature of our country and in this data dump, one of the memos was about the refugee crisis and it made three points. They think that they’ve been successful in influencing immigration police across the world. They think that the refugee crisis is an opportunity to continue doing so, and they think the refugee crisis is the new normal.”
In 2015, while working for the Daily Caller, she composed a list of ‘Syria-Sly hot’ claiming that they would change the governors mind after most of them claimed they wouldn’t allow Syrian refugees to enter their states.
In 2023 during CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump, when she asked Trump why he held on to classified documents when he left the White House, Trump called her a ‘nasty person.’
Awards and Recognition
- In recognition of her journalistic work, Collins has been included in Mediaite’s annual list of the “Most Influential People in News Media.” She was named to Crain’s NewsPro’s “12 to Watch in TV News,” as well as one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30: Media.”
- In 2023, she was named to Variety’s “New Power of New York” list and The Hill’s “Changemakers” list.
- She also received an Emmy Award for her part in CNN’s coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Collins provides perspectives on U.S. government, politics, and foreign affairs in addition to lending her on-air interviewing experience to hosting and moderation.
- In 2023, she was named on Variety’s”New Power of New York list”.
- She was named to 2024’s “TIME100 Next List.”
Kaitlan Collins Salary
Collins earns an annual base salary of $3 million. She has an estimated net worth of $4 million.