Everything is coming up...Lily

LILY COLLINS, HAS BECOME A HOUSEHOLD NAME OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, EVER SINCE HER WILDLY SUCCESSFUL NETFLIX SERIES EMILY IN PARIS PREMIERED AT THE HEIGHT OF COVID-19 IN 2020.

Being the daughter of legendary pop-star Phil Collins, means the experience of fame, is not a new concept to the British American actress, who was born in Surrey in the United Kingdom in March 1989.

Always attracted to the lights of the small and silver screens, Lily has been modelling and acting for much of her life, her first role was starring in the BBC network’s Growing Pains at the tender age of just two years old.

Not long after Growing Pains, Lily and her mother Jane Tavellman, moved back to her mother’s hometown of Los Angeles, California, where Lily continued to pursue her interest in acting, and journalism. As a teenager Lily even wrote for publications such as Teen Vogue and Elle Girl, but still continued to act, performing with the Youth Academy of Dramatic Arts.

After finishing school, Lily further pursued her interest in journalism studying communications at the University of Southern California, where she majored in broadcast journalism; but after only a few small reporting and hosting roles with kids channel Nickelodeon, Lily began to pursue her interest in acting more seriously.

Since then, Lily has starred in a plethora of television and film works including the reboot of 90210, with her big break occurring in 2009 with her role in the Academy Award nominated The Blind Side where she played opposite Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, as their daughter Collins Tuohy.

From there her acting career continued to flourish, with Lily starring in Mirror, Mirror opposite Julia Roberts and then in the screen adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones where she played the main character of Clary. In 2016 Lily came to critical acclaim, receiving a nomination for a Best Actress Golden Globe for her role in the Warren Beatty film, Rules Don’t Apply.

Lily continued her film career, preferring to choose roles with substance. In 2017 she again came to critical acclaim for her role in Marti Noxom’s To the Bone, where she played a woman suffering anorexia.

It was later revealed that the subject matter of the film was familiar to Collins, who had suffered eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia herself throughout her teenage years.

That same year Lily Collins published her memoir, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, where she shared her experience of living with an eating disorder, an emotionally abusive relationship, growing up in a famous family and finding her confidence.

Collins said the book was a very personal project for her, and she was inspired to share her own experiences by the strength and honesty shown by her social media followers who were brave enough to share their own personal stories with her.

“It’s definitely like having my diary published,” said Collins.

“This is my way to open up a conversation with young women and say, - hey, we’re all the same, we all have the same struggles.”

Fast forward to 2019 and Lily auditions for the lead role in the new rom-com series by Sex and the City creator, Darren Star - Emily in Paris. Darren thought Lily would be the perfect person to play the lead character of Emily, and offered the actress the role on her 30th birthday.

“From the moment I met Lily I was struck by her charm, her beauty, her light, dynamic personality,” Star recalls. “I knew I had found my Emily, but I couldn’t believe it was that easy!”

Lily was excited by the role too, and the potential of the series, so she jumped at the opportunity to be a producer on the show and take a more active role in its development.

Season one of Emily in Paris debuted on Netflix at the height of the pandemic in 2020, and was watched by over 58 million viewers. It was the perfect mix of travel, fun, fashion and light-hearted escapism so desperately needed at a time when no one was supposed to even step outside their own front door.

However, season one wasn’t without its controversies. Widely criticised for its cliched take on Paris and the French people, along with a distinct lack of diversity, Star and Collins took it all in their stride, and welcomed the

As a producer, Lily was able to be more hands on, especially when it came to creating the second and subsequently third season.

“I got to be a part of conversations that I’d never been privy to before, [have] input creatively in front of the camera and behind the camera,” Collins said.

Clearly producing got under Lily’s skin, with her recently announcing that she and new husband Charlie McDowell, along with acclaimed indie producer Alex Orlovsky have created their own production company - Case Study Films.

Lily described the collaboration as a great opportunity for her to continue to tell stories in front and behind the camera and that the production company would heavily focus on collaboration and storytelling.

Lily Collins has done a whole lot of living in her 33 years, and with high achievers like Lily, people always ask - what’s next?

In a recent interview Lily said she was looking toward the next season of Emily in Paris, but that she also didn’t want to get too far ahead, instead enjoying living in the present and being with her husband and dog Redford.

The release date for the new season of Emily in Paris has yet to be released, but our bet would be somewhere around December 2023and we can’t wait!

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