Viola Lynn Collins, born May 16, 1977, is an American actress. She made her television appearances in True Blood and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She’s most recognized for her roles in movies such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine and John Carter. Take a look below for 20 more awesome and interesting facts about Lynn Collins.

1. Collins is from Houston, Texas, and has English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry.

2. She has claimed to have Cherokee ancestry, referring to herself as, “Irish and Cherokee.”

3. She spent her formative years in Singapore, with summers in Japan where her parents were getting their fourth, fifth and sixth dan in Shito-ryu, which is Okinawa style karate.

4. During a childhood Christmas pageant in which she played Mrs. Claus, Collins discovered her love for acting.

5. She attended the Singapore American School and Klein High School in Texas.

6. Collins graduated from the Juilliard School’s Drama Division with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

7. She has stated that she greatly enjoys astrology.

8. Collins got her role in The Merchant of Venice after Cate Blanchett backed out.

9. Collins made her television debut in 1999, in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unite, and went on to star onstage as Ophelia opposite Liev Schreiber in Hamlet, followed by a turn as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

10. She had a stint on the show Haunted and small roles in the movies Down with Love, 50 First Dates and 13 Going on 30.

11. She gained notoriety by playing Portia in the movie The Merchant of Venice, starring opposite Al Pacino, Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons.

12. She furthered her profile in 2008 when she was cast as Jason Stackhouse’s girlfriend Dawn Green in the first season of the HBO vampire series True Blood.

13. Collins had a feature role as the hero’s love interest in the 2009 movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine opposite Hugh Jackman.

14. Her first leading film role came in 2012 when she was cast as the headstrong Martian princess Dejah Thoris in John Carter.

15. Collins married then 21 year old actor Steven Strait on December 23, 2007, after a four year relationship.

16. Collins and Steven Strait separated in 2013.

17. She married musician Matthew Boyle in November 2014, and they have one child together.

18. Collins was raised in a, “very, very religious,” family of Southern Baptists, and has since explored several religious faiths, describing herself as a “pretty spiritual person.”

19. She enjoys storytelling, stating, “From the beginning of time, we’ve told stories, Shamans and Medicine People, and not to be pompous about it, but I feel like that is the lineage I take down and where I come from. There is magic to storytelling.”

20. She started doing karate when she was four years old. She stopped when she was 17 and went to Juilliard and had a lot of stage combat there.