1. On a roleWhen Lily sets her sights on a
part, she makes sure it happens.
“I’m really determined,” she says.
“Once I know I’ve done all I can
do, it’s totally fine.”
Famous
feature
When it comes to rising stars,
you won’t find a name hotter
than Lily Collins right now
H
er latest movie has rocketed to the top of the
box office, but while Lily Collins’ rise to
stardom seems sudden, truth is Hollywood’s
new It-girl already had an impressive résumé
before industry players put her number on speed dial.
The 24-year-old daughter of British rocker Phil Collins,
62, certainly knows her way around the scene. “I grew up
seeing the pros and cons of the business with my dad,” she
tells Nylon mag. “A lot of people’s perception is that I don’t
have to work my way to get in a room because someone’s
always interested in the last name, but I always say that
personality opens doors [and] character keeps them open.”
Moving experience
Born in England to Phil and his second wife Jill Tavelman,
in bloom
Lily
Lily moved to LA with
her mum at age five after
her parents’ divorce.
Once there, she enrolled
in prestigious prep school
Harvard-Westlake where she led
a normal – albeit privileged –
childhood. Growing up, she would
spend Christmas in the English
countryside and at 18 she made
her debut at the elite Crillon Ball
in Paris, dressed in Chanel couture.
“To this day, my core group of
solid friends are from high school,”
she tells the LA Times newspaper.
With her striking looks, Lily
first gained attention as a model
– she called herself, “the short
girl with attitude” – but her real
passion was acting. In the showbiz
world, however, her famous name
was more of a hindrance than an
advantage. “The first [agent] told
me, ‘There are plenty of sons of,
daughters of, cousins of, nieces of,
nephews of – so what makes you
special? Do something, come back
and we’ll talk,’” she says.
The write stuff
Always ambitious, Lily pursued her
other goal – journalism. A talented
writer, she began contributing to
British mag Elle Girl at 15, and
followed that up with articles for
Teen Vogue
and Seventeen.
Next came a hosting
gig for kids’ TV channel
Nickelodeon at 18.
“I wanted to be the youngest
talk-show host,” she admits. “No-
one got it. I came into boardrooms
with pie charts and research. I was
like, ‘Why is this not computing?
It seems a given that the younger
generation has a voice!’ I feel like
I was just a few years too early.”
While that dream failed to
materialise, being in front of the
camera was a perfect fit and, while
studying broadcast journalism at the
University of Southern California,
Lily began to audition for films.
Her breakthrough came in 2009,
when she played the daughter of
Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock’s
character in The Blind Side.
“I did my first semester during the
second half of the [academic] year,
and then Blind Side happened,” she
explains. “I didn’t want to leave and
not have that time count, so I had
to write 10 extra papers and Skype
with teachers, all while I was on set.
And I had to fly back for finals.
It was... really difficult.”
A star is made
Having well and truly caught the
Taylor
Lautner
The on-screen chemistry
between Lily and Taylor
spilled into real life. They
dated for a year before
ending things in late 2011.
leading
men
bug, Lily left uni to act full-time. Her
next big role was as Snow White
opposite Julia Roberts, 45, in 2012’s
Mirror Mirror. “I wanted it so badly,”
the starlet admits, and her passion
paid off – auditioning on Thursday,
she had the gig by Friday morning.
And the parts kept rolling in. She
played 21-year-old Taylor Lautner’s
love interest in Abduction and starred
opposite Julianne Moore, 52, in indie
flick The English Teacher.
But the role that has her poised to
join the ranks of Kristen Stewart, 23,
and Jennifer Lawrence, 23, is the lead
role of Clary in supernatural franchise
The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones.
While her career’s still taking off,
Lily’s love life is already firmly A-list.
As well as a romance with Taylor, she
enjoyed a fling with Zac Efron, 25, and
recently split from Mortal Instruments
co-star Jamie Campbell Bower, 24.
“Lily and I are very, very close,”
Jamie tells E! Online. “Always have
been, always will be.” When even your
ex has only good things to say, you
know you’re doing something right!
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Zac Efron
Lily and Zac were linked
in February 2012, but
had split by June. “It was
just a casual thing and it
fizzled,” a source tells
Us Weekly magazine.
Jamie
Campbell
Bower
The actress fell for
another co-star – Brit
actor Jamie – but despite
their recent break-up, the
pair remain friends.
Movie magic... Scan to
see the trailer for Lily’s
fantasy epic The Mortal
Instruments: City Of Bones
Watch
Her supporting role in
The Blind Side led to the
lead in Mirror Mirror.
Lily honed her
action chops
with Taylor in
Abduction.
Something in the heir Far from being intimidated by her famous
father Phil, Lily was inspired. “I grew up watching my dad... that
made me want to make a mark on the world as well,” she says.