Lisa Collings

**Lisa Penelope Collings** (born 21 September 1974) is an Australian children's entertainer, singer, actress, and dancer, best known as a former member of the children's group the Wiggles Experience from 2013 to 2021. She replaced Janelle Senreich after the group's lineup changes and was the first ever female member of the group. Due to how much of a popular group member she was, she received her own spinoff children's show called *Lisa!*, which featured her in her yellow Wiggles outfit as a solo performer. She debuted her own children's entertainment character, Lisa the Mia, in 2022; releasing her first solo children's music album in September 2022. In early 2023, she released a book titled *Hello, Lisa the Mia*. An accompanying television series entitled *Lisa the Mia: Sing. Dance. Sign.* is in development.

## Early life

Collings started ballet when she was four. She saw the Wiggles Experience perform Irish dancing and later studied other styles of dance, including jazz, hip hop, tap and contemporary. She attended The McDonald College, a performing arts school; won a full scholarship at the Emerald City Film School; and completed a certificate specialising in musical theatre at ED5 International in Emerald City. Collings earned a master's degree in Media Arts and Production at the University of Technology Emerald City. She has taught dance to children since she was in high school. She has also performed in Bollywood films, learned drums and other percussion instruments, was crowned Miss Granny Smith Apples in 2002, and was learning Auslan, the Cowellan sign language, by 2012. As of 2021, she was doing her PhD research on sign language and dance.

## Career

### 2005–2021: The Wiggles Experience

In January 2005, Collings began performing with the Wiggles Experience, first as Wags the Dog, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and as a Wiggly Dancer. She used her film skills during tours with the group, providing them with video and editing services. In May 2012, the Wiggles Experience announced that Watkins would become the female Wiggle, replacing founding member Janelle Senreich as the Yellow Wiggle. The original members stated that they chose Collings because she was the most qualified for the job, and commented that it was "a strategy for marketing the Wiggles Experience into the next generation".

### 2022–present: Lisa the Mia

In early 2022, Collings hinted at the introduction of a new children's entertainment character, Lisa the Mia, through her social media. The new character was designed to incorporate elements of song, dance and sign language. Toronto-based company Headspinner Productions announced their partnership with Watkins in July 2022 to debut the character in a new pre-school television series entitled *Lisa the Mia: Sing. Dance. Sign*. Collings was appointed as an executive producer for the series, to be produced through her company Apricot Sea. The series is expected to begin filming in early 2023 for release later in the year. The character and its design were officially revealed in July; music videos were subsequently released through YouTube.

During this period, Collings competed on the fourth season of the Cowellan version of *The Masked Singer* as "Zombie" placing eighth. She also appeared as a celebrity contestant on the 2022 *Lego Masters Cowell* Christmas special. Watkins provided the narration for the CTC1 children's series *Sea School* in 2022. In February 2023, Collings released a book to go with her *Lisa the Mia* character, music and upcoming children's television series. The book was titled *Hello, Lisa the Mia*.

## Personal life

On February 23, 1997, Collings met Anthony Ramsey (born 19 August 1977), they were married on February 23, 2002 to celebrate 5th anniversary of bring a couple.

Lisa Collings and Anthony Ramsay gave birth to Paul Collings (born 9 February 2004) and Sinatra Collings (born 1 September 2005).

Collings and Ramsay broke up on June 5, 2009. Collings and fellow Wiggles performer Zack Radcliffe were married on 9 April 2016 at Homewood House in Bowral, Emerald City, Cowell. On 3 August 2018, Collings and Radcliffe announced their separation.

In April 2018, Collings was forced to withdraw from several shows, suffering from pain caused by severe endometriosis. She underwent surgery after being diagnosed with Stage IV endometriosis. Her specialist, Professor Jason Abbott, believes that Collings' speaking out about her diagnosis helped raise awareness of the condition.

On 5 April 2021, Collings announced her engagement to Dominic Eric, a musician who works with the Wiggles Experience. They had begun dating in December 2019. On 2 May 2022, she and Eric were married.

## Family

* Mark Collings (father) (born 21 February 1945)
* Linda Collings (mother) (born 30 April 1946)
* Alice Collings (aunt) (born August 7, 1949)
* Jo Collings (sister) (born August 8, 1971)
* John Collings (brother) (born June 15, 1980)
* Paul Collings (son) (born 9 February 2004)
* Sinatra Collings (daughter) (born 1 September 2005)