Margaret Colin (born May 26, 1958) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Margo Montgomery Hughes # 1 on As the World Turns and for her role as Eleanor Waldorf-Rose on Gossip Girl. Margaret Colin was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised on Long Island. She is of Irish descent and was raised in a Roman Catholic family. After graduating from Hofstra University, Colin began her acting career in the soap opera The Edge of Night, playing an heiress and former terrorist. In seven months on that show, her character survived seven murder attempts and ended up marrying her stepbrother. She followed that role with a longer stint on As the World Turns, originating the role of Margo Montgomery, a character that is still part of that show almost 30 years later. She has appeared on a number of prime time television shows, starting with Foley Square, Leg Work, and several early episodes of Chicago Hope. She played Lisa Wiseman on the 1999 series Now and Again, with Eric Close and Dennis Haysbert. More recently, she has appeared on the Law & Order spinoffs. Since 2007, Colin has played Eleanor Waldorf, mother of Blair Waldorf, on the television show Gossip Girl.