Biography
Lily Collins didn't follow in her father's famous footsteps but still developed an enviable career within the entertainment industry. Born in Surrey, England to drummer and pop singer Phil Collins and his second wife, Jill Tavelman, when her parents divorced, she relocated with her mother to Los Angeles as a child. She began her career as a toddler, appearing in the British series "Growing Pains" (BBC1, 1992-93). While a teenager, she began modeling and writing pieces for magazines like Elle Girl and Teen Vogue. She began acting with a role on the television show "90210" (Fox, 2008-13). Her film career started by playing Sandra Bullock's daughter in the football-themed film "The Blind Side" (2009). She then played the endangered niece of Paul Bettany's vampire hunting cleric in "Priest" (2011). She stepped into a starring role when she played Snow White opposite Julia Roberts in the fantasy adventure "Mirror, Mirror" (2012). Collins then truly took center stage in "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" (2013), playing the heroine of Cassandra Clare's popular book series. She played lighter fare as well, joining Greg Kinnear in both "Stuck in Love" (2012) and "The English Teacher" (2013), and starring in the romantic comedy "Love, Rosie" (2014). Warren Beatty cast the actress in his feature "Rules Don't Apply" (2016). Her role as Marta Mabrey, a young actress discovered by Howard Hughes, earned a Golden Globe nomination. She starred with Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammar in the series adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Last Tycoon" (Amazon, 2016-17). Collins earned critical praise for her portrayal of a woman suffering from anorexia in Marti Noxon's "To the Bone" (Netflix, 2017). She also starred with Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, and Paul Dano in the drama "Okja" (Netflix, 2017). The actress joined the ensemble for a fresh adaptation of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" (BBC, 2018-19) playing Fantine. She joined Zac Efron as the longtime girlfriend of serial killer Ted Bundy in "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" (Netflix, 2019). She played the wife of J.R.R. Tolkien in "Tolkien" opposite Nicholas Hoult as the author. Darren Star cast Collins as the lead in his series "Emily in Paris" (Paramount Network, 2020- ) playing an American who joins a Parisian marketing firm.
