- Founder and President
“We are surrounded by magic and kindness. Get people on your side with team spirit and they’ll want to help you. One smile, one heartbeat at the time.”
Top international model, actress, film producer, humanitarian, and savvy businesswoman Linda Collins is a tour de force when it comes to championing causes close to her heart. A lifelong advocate and fundraiser for a multitude of charitable causes, Linda is the Founder and President of Models with a Cause, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes and alleviates urgent social, environmental and human rights issues by connecting volunteers, resources, and advocates with a number of crucial causes around the globe.
Linda studied physics and math at the University of Bucharest in her native Romania before launching her celebrated, international career as a high-fashion model. A muse of the legendary photographer Douglas Kirkland, Linda has graced magazine covers around the globe, wowed on the runways of Paris, Milan and Los Angeles Fashion Weeks, and starred in major editorial campaigns for Guess and the designer Sue Wong. Possessing timeless beauty fit for the silver screen, Linda made her film debut in the 2002 movie Callas Forever, followed by roles in Sinatra Club and I’m Not Famous but I am Aromanian.
With her passion for filmmaking sparked, Linda partnered with her good friend, the director Jason Rem, producing poignant documentaries spotlighting the people and moments behind the causes for which she advocates. The duo produced the documentary RETT: There is Hope, an exploration of the rare childhood disorder Rett syndrome, and Magda, the riveting, World War II story of a Polish-born breast cancer survivor recruited by her brother to spy for the Polish Underground Resistance Army.
Currently, Linda is an Advisory Director for the Light School Uriri in Kenya, a member of the board for the non-profit organization Visionary Women, and she serves on the Professional Advisory Council for the Rett Syndrome Research Trust. Throughout the years, Linda has supported a legion of vital causes, including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Sustainable Program, Environmental Working Group, Lupus LA, The Brett Shapiro Foundation, Human Rights Campaign, Amnesty International, Oceana, Alliance for Climate Protection, Sierra Club California, Natural Resources Defense Council, Playing for Change, UNICEF, and Creative Visions.
Two U.S. Presidents have recognized Linda’s remarkable commitment to humanitarianism. President Barak Obama awarded Linda the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2009 for her support of the Presidential Initiative to Accelerate Child Survival through her work with UNICEF. In 2013, Linda was honored as a Clinton Foundation Ambassador by President Bill Clinton for her work with the Clinton Global Initiative.
In 2014, Linda joined her husband Lance Collins, the founder of Fuze, NOS, and Body Armor in the beverage business. The power couple co-founded Core Hydration, a line of ph-balanced water and organic beverages that sold to Keurig Dr. Pepper in 2014. Linda stopped traffic in a major advertising campaign for the celeb-endorsed brand, her image igniting billboards from Times Square to the Sunset Strip. Their latest venture, Core Foods, promotes a healthy lifestyle with a line of organic, gluten-free, dairy-free snack bars packed with probiotics and zero added sugars — “everything you need to make your core happy,” the brand promises.
Throughout Linda’s kaleidoscopic career, the one constant remains her dedication to philanthropy, which culminated in 2013 with the founding of Models with a Cause. The 501 (c)3 non-profit organization is a charitable matchmaker, connecting donors, volunteers, resources, and advocates with a number of crucial causes around the globe. After years of supporting causes dear to her heart, Linda is thrilled to have the MWAC team help galvanize what she fondly calls her Network of Inspiration — a global community of role models dedicated to giving back and leading by example. It is the ultimate way to pay it forward and celebrate life, as she is resolved to inspire in her adorable four-year-old, Henry Constantine.
“We are surrounded by magic and kindness, all around us,” Linda beams. “Get people on your side with team spirit and they’ll want to help you. One smile, one heart beat at the time.”