Lily Collins's Real Name: Lily Jane Collins

Quick answer: Lily Collins's birth name is Lily Jane Collins. She was born on March 18, 1989, in Guildford, England, to singer-songwriter Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman. She is best known for playing the title role in Netflix's Emily in Paris (2020–). She acts under her birth name (Library of Congress; Britannica).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Collins, Lily, 1989-." Its citation note reads "b. Mar. 18, 1989 in Guildford, England; birth name: Lily Jane Collins; daughter of musician Phil Collins." Jane is her middle name.

Britannica says her mother is American, Jill Tavelman, and her father is English singer-songwriter Phil Collins, lead singer of Genesis. Her first acting role came at age two, on the BBC sitcom Growing Pains (1992–93). She moved to Los Angeles at five after her parents divorced. As a teenager she was interested in journalism, wrote for Teen Vogue, Seventeen, and Elle Girl, and covered the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign for Nickelodeon.

Career highlights

Her film debut was The Blind Side (2009), playing the adoptive sister of an aspiring football star. The film grossed more than $250 million. After Priest and Abduction (both 2011), she drew mainstream attention as Snow White opposite Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror (2012), singing "I Believe in Love" on screen. She led The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) as Clary Fray and starred in the romantic comedy Love, Rosie (2014).

Rules Don't Apply (2016) earned her first Golden Globe nomination. In the Netflix drama To the Bone (2017) she played a young woman with anorexia nervosa, and she spoke publicly about her own past eating disorder. Her 2017 essay collection, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, covers those struggles and growing up in the public eye. She also appeared in Bong Joon Ho's Okja (2017), played Fantine in the BBC's Les Misérables, and played Ted Bundy's longtime girlfriend in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019).

As Emily, an American who moves to Paris for work, she earned a 2021 Golden Globe nomination. Britannica notes that the show was renewed for a fourth season in 2022. She married writer-director Charlie McDowell in 2021 and has said she prefers to keep her private life out of the spotlight.

Name notes for searchers

Collins is her father's surname, and she has not used a stage name. After marrying McDowell she has kept working as Lily Collins. The LOC record confirms that she is Phil Collins's daughter, which is a common search question.