Kaitlan Collins

Collins grew up in Prattville, Alabama, outside Montgomery, in what she has described as an apolitical upbringing. She attended Prattville High School before enrolling at the University of Alabama.

She initially studied chemistry but changed her academic focus to journalism and political science. She graduated in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.

After graduating, Collins moved to Washington, D.C., and began an internship at The Daily Caller. She was hired by the website as an entertainment reporter in June 2014, then shifted toward political reporting after covering the 2016 presidential election.

In January 2017, The Daily Caller named Collins its White House correspondent. At 24, she began covering Donald Trump's first administration, a role that brought her to the attention of CNN producers through several appearances on the network.

CNN hired Collins in July 2017 to join its presidential news coverage. As a White House correspondent, she traveled with Trump on at least six international presidential trips and reported extensively on the 2020 election. On January 11, 2021, CNN promoted her to chief White House correspondent for the incoming Biden administration, making her the youngest person to hold that title in the network's history.

Collins became nationally prominent after a July 2018 incident at the White House. During an Oval Office photo opportunity, she questioned Trump about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his former attorney Michael Cohen. She was subsequently barred from a Rose Garden press event, a decision condemned by the White House Correspondents' Association and journalists across the political press corps, including Fox News president Jay Wallace.

The relationship between Collins and Trump remained contentious during her later CNN work. She moderated a CNN town hall with Trump in May 2023, where he called her a “nasty person” after she challenged him during an exchange about classified documents. After returning to the White House beat for Trump's second administration, she continued to face public criticism from Trump over her reporting and questions.

In 2022, Collins was named a co-anchor of CNN This Morning alongside Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow. The appointment marked her first full-time anchoring role while she continued to draw on her experience as a political reporter. She left the morning program in May 2023.

CNN named Collins host of its 9 p.m. hour in May 2023, and The Source with Kaitlan Collins premiered on July 10 of that year. The weeknight program features political interviews, breaking news coverage, and discussions of major national and international events.

In November 2024, CNN announced that Collins would return as chief White House correspondent for Trump's second administration while retaining her primetime hosting role. The combined position placed her political reporting and evening anchor work at the center of CNN's coverage.

Collins was included on Forbes' 30 Under 30: Media list in 2019. She was also recognized by GALECA in 2024 as one of America's 10 best television news journalists.

GALECA praised her work fact-checking political leaders and holding powerful figures accountable on The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Mediaite later ranked her sixth on its 2025 list of the most influential figures in news media.

Collins is not married. She has been in a long-term relationship with Will Douglas since 2015.

Douglas is an American pharmacist, businessman, and politician who ran for the Texas House of Representatives. Collins and Douglas have not welcomed any children.