Collins Tuohy is an actor and public speaker who is Michael Oher’s adoptive sister. She also runs The Whimsy Cookie Company, a bakery and pastry boutique, as co-owner and head of marketing. Collins is a member of the Making it Happen Foundation’s Board of Directors in addition to owning her own business. Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, Oher’s parents, welcomed her into their family in 2004. After learning about his troubled background, they eventually adopted him and provided him with a safe home. Michael Lewis, an American nonfiction author and financial journalist, recounted his narrative in the 2006 book ‘The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.’ The book was made into a screenplay by John Lee Hancock and in 2009, a film titled ‘The Blind Side’ was released to critical acclaim and economic success. . Collins Closets, her fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog, debuted in 2016.
Early Life & Family
Collins was born on December 29, 1986, in a wealthy household in Memphis, Tennessee. Sean, her father, is a sports pundit and restaurateur who owns over 85 fast food chains with his interior designer wife, including Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. They also collaborated on the book ‘In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving,’ which was published by Henry Holt and Co. on July 13, 2010. Sean Tuohy Jr., her younger brother, is a guard for the Loyola Greyhounds, her university’s basketball team.
She began taking piano lessons when she was six years old. She attended the University of Mississippi and majored in Broadcast Journalism after graduating from Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis. She was the President of the Student Alumni Council, the President of the Student Spirit Committee, a Kappa Delta Sorority Officer, and an Ole Miss Varsity Cheerleader at Ole Miss.
Her parents brought Oher into their family when she was 18 years old. The future All-American had a difficult childhood. Michael Jerome Williams Jr. was born in Memphis to Denise Oher and Michael Jerome Williams. He grew up without any guidance or discipline. Michael Sr. was a persistent felon who had spent the majority of his life behind bars, while Denise was an alcoholic and cocaine addict. When his father was murdered in prison, Oher was a senior in high school. Despite his dismal academic performance, he displayed extraordinary skill on the football field and was allowed to participate in his school’s program.
Scout.com rated him a five-star recruit and the country’s number five offensive tackle prospect in 2003. He’d spent time with many foster homes by that point. The Tuohys, who are active community members, had heard about him and decided to contact him. Oher thrived in their family, and his foster parents pushed him to participate in a variety of sports. In 2005, they were appointed as his legal guardians.
Collins and Oher are the same age, having been born in 1986. They both enjoy sports. She was a pole vaulter and a cheerleader. Collins took first place in the pole vault competitions in the Tennessee State Championship, while Oher garnered All-State honors in discus and basketball. They became so close that he escorted her to the homecoming dance, where she was crowned Queen. Collins was also the only member of Oher’s family who traveled to New York for the NFL draft.
The Ascension to Notoriety
Collins and her family became reasonably well-known people in the public realm once Lewis’ book was published. Since the release of the film, their popularity has only grown. Sandra Bullock played Leigh Anne, Quinton Aaron played Oher, Tim McGraw played Sean Tuohy, and Lily Collins played Collins Tuohy in the film. Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2009 for the picture, which grossed more than $300 million at the box office.
Personal Experiences of Collins Tuohy
Collins Tuohy had been dating her fiance Cannon Smith for 11 years before marrying him in a two-day wedding in their hometown of Memphis in April 2016. Smith is the son of FedEx founder Frederick Smith and the brother of Demolition producer and Black Label Media co-founder Molly Smith, who was the first executive at her father’s film firm, Alcon Entertainment, to read the script for “The Blind Side.” Cannon, like Oher, was a college football player who spent one season at the University of Miami and then at the University of Memphis as a quarterback.