Lily Collins was born in 1989 in England, but when she was only five years old, her parents divorced and she was forced to move to Los Angeles. She began her acting career very early – she had her first appearances at the age of two in the series “Kids, Trouble and Us”.
The actress is the fruit of a relationship with a famous musician Phila Collinsa and Jill Tavelman, who was his second wife. After their separation, Lily held a grudge against her father for years; Collins reportedly announced his departure to his wife via fax. The absence of her father around cast a shadow over her entire life.
The actress accused the musician of not receiving enough support from him. As a result, she experienced a nervous breakdown and had an eating disorder. Another problem was the infrequent meetings, and consequently, natural longing and anger.
In her book (Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me), she wrote about how her relationship with her father affected her entire life, causing many problems: “It took me over a decade to resolve some of them (I’m still resolving others) and finally gather the courage to tell him what I thought.”
In a famous open letter from 2017, the actress forgave him in moving words for his mistakes and leaving. “I forgive you for not always being there for me when I needed you. I forgive you for not being the dad I wanted to be. I forgive you for the mistakes you made. Even though it seems too late to forgive, I don’t think it is. We still have a lot of time to change something (…) I am learning to accept your choices and actions. I am learning to express how I felt about them. I accept the sadness and anger I felt about the things you did or didn’t do.”
Years later, the Collinses have managed to mend their relationship, as evidenced by a touching post published by the actress in January 2022, on her father’s birthday:
“Happy birthday, Dad. I may not fit in your arms anymore, and I can’t sit comfortably on your shoulders, but you still hold me when I need it most. We may not spend much time together, but when we do, you really notice me. You may not always believe it, but believe me, no matter how old I get or what life throws at me, I will always need you. Whether I’m watching you proudly on stage or laughing at home playing Trivial Pursuit, I’m grateful for those moments and memories. Especially the ones I cherish now as an adult woman. Thank you for being my inspiration and supporting the woman I am today. I love you endlessly.”
Did the fame of the Genesis leader influence the flourishing of Lily’s career? The actress believes that she has earned everything herself. In one of the interviews, she admitted that she wanted to achieve everything through her own effort, instead of using a recognizable name.
“There was no way people would think I was getting a free pass because of my last name. (…) I’m proud of my dad, but I wanted to be myself, not just his daughter. I love singing. But because I wanted to go my own way, away from my father’s genius, I preferred to be an actress,” she told Vogue France two years ago.
See also: Tragic death of an actor. Four people arrested
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