Lily Collins was born into fame. The daughter of Genesis drummer Phil Collins and his ex-wife Jill Tavelman, Lily earned her first acting role at two years old on BBC’s Growing Pains. Now, she’s known as the star of the hit Netflix series Emily in Paris.
Living with a famous father has come with its share of challenges, public and private. Her parents split when she was five years old and she went to live with her mom full time. With Phil a global celebrity, he was often absent during her childhood — but the pair have since patched up any issues between them, with Lily telling The Guardian in 2012 that anything else is merely rumors.
“I know the truth and I know how it was for me, and I know how much I love my family — and that’s all that really matters,” she said.
While Phil’s health forced him into retirement from drumming in 2022, he’s now embracing life as a grandfather. Lily and her husband, Charlie McDowell, welcomed their first child, daughter Tove, via surrogate in January 2025. (Phil is also grandpa to granddaughter, Zoe, from legally adopted daughter Joely Collins and her husband, Stefan Buitelaar.)
Keep scrolling to look back at Lily and Phil’s relationship through the years.
They Had a Strained Relationship While Lily Was Growing Up
When Phil and Tavelman divorced, Tavelman took Lily to live in Los Angeles while Phil stayed behind in London. She opened up about not having her dad in her life in her 2017 memoir, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me.
“Because my dad was often gone, I never wanted to do anything that would make him stay away even longer,” she wrote. “I became extra careful about what I said and how I said it, afraid he’d think I was angry or didn’t love him. And the truth is, I was angry. I missed him and wanted him there.”
Lily Struggled With Phil’s Fame While As a Child
Lily’s first brush with her dad’s fame came on a trip to Disneyland as a child, when she spotted a guest wearing a shirt with Phil’s face on it.
“Then he saw my dad and asked for a photo — and it was a really weird moment,” she recalled to Radio Times in 2020. “I was thinking, ‘Why does he want a picture of my dad, and why is my dad on his T-shirt?’ Slowly but surely, I started to understand.”
She remembered eventually getting used to it, learning to separate “Phil Collins” from “Dad.”
“It’s a weird thing to have your dad or your parent be on the stage with a million people saying their name and you’re like, ‘No, that’s just Dad,’” she said in a 2016 interview with Harry Connick Jr. “But I started to get used to [it:] that person was Phil and then when we were home, that was Dad.”
Lily Was Determined to Make It on Her Own
Lily didn’t start acting regularly until she was 20 when she appeared in the 2009 film The Blind Side. As she landed more roles and her fame grew, she did not want her famous father to help her along the way.
“I always wanted to do it on my own,” she said in a 2013 interview with Glamour. “I never wanted anyone making phone calls. A name can open doors, but there’s a quote I like: ‘Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.’”
She added that even if Phil isn’t pulling strings for her, he remains supportive of her career.
“He’s just letting me do my thing as it happens,” she said. “It’s such a different game now, so he’s just seeing his little girl go out and experience it all, and I think to him that’s the most bizarre, but most amazing thing to see.”
She Has Since Forgiven Her Dad for Their Once Rocky Relationship
Lily included a letter of forgiveness to her dad in her 2017 memoir after writing that “many of my deepest insecurities stem from these issues with my dad.”
“We all make choices and, although I don’t excuse some of yours, at the end of the day we can’t rewrite the past,” she wrote. “I’m learning how to accept your actions and vocalize how they made me feel. I accept and honor the sadness and anger I felt toward the things you did or didn’t do, did or didn’t give me.”
She added that Phil’s 2008 divorce from third wife, Orianne Cevey, played a role in her developing an eating disorder.
“Not only did I start viewing myself differently physically, but I began limiting my happiness by controlling my eating habits,” she explained. “I couldn’t handle the pain and confusion surrounding my dad’s divorce, and I was having a hard time balancing being a teenager with pursuing two different grown-up careers.”
Phil and Lily Collins Remain Close
Lily and Phil seem to have moved past their issues. In 2022, Lily showed up to support her dad in his final concert with Genesis, writing via Instagram that she was “endlessly grateful” for her dad and brother, Nic, who was performing with the band.
For Father’s Day 2024, she sent her dad another heartfelt message via Instagram.
“I’m sending more hugs to you than ever and I’m beyond grateful for you today and every day,” she wrote. “My words won’t be able to do it justice but… you know. I love you to the moon and back again.”
