Lily Collins Biography

Born in West Sussex, England, Lily Collins is the daughter of British singer Phil Collins and his second wife, American Jill Tavelman. Lily started acting at the age of two when she was cast on the British television series Growing Pains. Moving to the United States at age six, she began performing musical theater and drama at the Youth Academy for Dramatic Arts.

At 15, Lily discovered her passion for journalism when she began working for the popular fashion magazine Ellegirl UK, where she created and wrote a page informing readers on Hollywood trends and Los Angeles hot spots, called LA Confidential. Lily extended her interest in writing and reporting to television as a host for Nickelodeon's Slime Across America tour.

Lily studied Communication at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication. As the first college representative to sit on the board of The Maple Counseling Center, Lily created Talk More Create Connections, a program that promotes open conversations between parents and teens.

In 2008, Lily received the Best International Model Award at the 2008 Spanish Glamour Awards in Madrid. She was also presented with the One to Watch Award at the 2008 Young Hollywood Awards. Lily appeared in two episodes of the series 90210 before moving onto the big screen, playing the daughter of Sandra Bullock's character in The Blind Side (2009). She followed that up with a role opposite Paul Bettany in the thriller Priest (2011).

After playing a supporting role as Taylor Lautner's girlfriend in Abduction, Lily finally landed the starring role in a movie when Saoirse Ronan dropped out of playing Snow White in Mirror Mirror (2012), opposite Julia Roberts, and Lily was chosen to replace her.

Other films include The English Teacher (2013), Stuck in Love (2013) and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), a film based on a popular series of young adult books. Although it was supposed to cement her stardom, as Twilight did for Kristen Stewart and The Hunger Games did for Jennifer Lawrence, unfortunately, the film did not do well at the box office and a sequel was cancelled.

Lily got another chance at stardom with Love, Rosie (2015), co-starring The Hunger Games' Sam Claflin. In it, she returned to her British roots by taking on an English accent. The ensemble Rules Don't Apply (2016), written and directed by Warren Beatty, was followed by the Netflix movies Okja (2017) and To The Bone (2017). She also plays a starring role in the Netflix movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), playing the girlfriend of serial killer Ted Bundy. In 2020, she starred as the title character on the Netflix series Emily in Paris.

Filmography:

Emily in Paris (2020)
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
To The Bone (2017)
Okja (2017)
To the Bone (2017)
Rules Don't Apply (2016)
Love, Rosie (2015)
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
Stuck in Love (2013)
The English Teacher (2013)
Mirror Mirror (2012)
Abduction (2011)
Priest (2011)
The Blind Side (2009)