Lily Collins‘ parents, singer Phil Collins and actress Jill Tavelman, are well-known in Hollywood, which is why the Emily in Paris star was apprehensive about using her last name when auditioning for roles.
“I so badly wanted to always fight that, because it wasn’t the place that I was coming from,” she told Glamour U.K.
But the opposite happened — as a little kid, she had to prove herself. “When I was younger, trying to start my journey into the entertainment world, I was told by quite a few people, ‘Well, what makes you special? There’s so many different siblings and family members and people out there. Why you?’” she recalled.
However, she has landed on her feet, starring in several shows and movies, including Love, Rosie, The Blindside, Mirror Mirror and more.
Recently, the 32-year-old has won over critics and fans in the Netflix hit show Emily in Paris.
“I’m so incredibly proud of what my surname represents, for what my dad’s done. And I’m an incredibly proud daughter, but I am going on my own path, my own journey. I didn’t want to change my last name,” she declared. “And so I am really proud of where I am today because I know how hard I work.”
During the season 1 finale, Emily and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) spend the night together, which complicates their relationship, as the marketing guru is pals with Gabriel’s ex Camille (Camille Razat). In season 2, Camille finds out about their tryst, leading to a fractured friendship.
“Emily definitely has deep-rooted feelings and regrets about what happened because she does feel really badly about it,” Collins explained. “And it wouldn’t cause her so much turmoil if she didn’t care. And so I think, whenever something affects me so deeply or troubles me, it’s because I care. And that’s a good thing, but it makes it way harder because when you’re conscious of something … and now you know you have to do something about it; what do I do?”
Even though viewers are curious to know who she will end up with, season 2 was able to spend time on other important characters.
“Emily ultimately really values her friendships. And [in] season 2, she really leans into the female friendships, which is something that I really was excited about pursuing more of,” the star shared.
