Living Your Best Encore: Carla Collins

What is (or was) your career, and how many years have you dedicated to it?

I’ve been in the entertainment industry, or at least entertainment industry adjacent, since my university days. I’ve done it all: morning show announcer, actor, writer, entertainment show anchor and reporter, talk, comedy and variety show host, stand-up comedian and most recently, fine artist.

Yup, I actually found something less stable than comedy!

I started as a weather woman in Montreal and even spent a summer as an Air Canada flight attendant. If I’d been a nurse, I would’ve completed the trifecta of the original “slutty” Halloween costumes.

Was there a defining moment that led you here?

There have been several defining moments along the way — being the first woman to host a major-market morning radio show, hosting my own variety show on the Comedy Network, and even starring in a reality show in Los Angeles.

More recently, some personal highlights include winning an award for acting, anytime I’m able to make a roomful of people laugh, and selling my first piece of art last year. (Did I list too many?)

Honestly, I think we’re always in the middle of a defining moment — or an existential crisis. Sometimes both.

How do you define success or fulfillment today compared to earlier in life?

Not to sound trite, but I’ve come to define success and fulfillment as doing what I love, with and for the people I love and doing it as mindfully as possible. I try to be more of a creator than a consumer, and to stay present rather than subscribe to the hustle-and-grind culture.

For me, success is about being healthy, age limitless, and not taking anything, especially myself, too seriously.

What is one powerful lesson you learned later in life that you wish you could have whispered to your younger self?

I’d probably shout at my younger self to stop giving a sh*t about what other people think — advice coming from a recovering people pleaser. I’d also tell her to develop better tech skills, so she wouldn’t still be just one bonnet away from being Amish.

Please complete this sentence: What I value most about where I am in life right now is….

What I value most about where I am in life right now is simply that — I’m still in it. I’m deeply grateful for my good health. I value laughter, being in flow, new adventures, fabulous friends and family and, of course, dogs—actually, all animals.

Carla Collins is an award-winning comedian, actress, author, fine artist, and host. Her reality show Carlawood is currently streaming on Tubi, and she appears in the film Murder, Anyone? on Amazon Prime. She’s the author of the bestselling comedic motivational book Angels, Vampires and Douche Bags, with her second book, The HuaHua Way (which she also illustrated), set for release in 2026. Carla has six comedy albums airing on SiriusXM and tours across North America. She recently headlined the Palm Springs Comedy Festival as her alter ego, French lingerie model Soufflé. She’s also the creator of The Laugh of Attraction, a unique concept that combines humour with wellness, featuring her corporate darling Chuckle & Chill comedy and meditations, as well as Vision Pop Boards, which blend fine art with personal inspiration. You can find out more about Carla on her website or follow her on Instagram @carlacollinscomedian.

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