Lily Collins Revealed Her Emily in Paris Character's Age—and Now We're Confused

Lily Collins set the record straight on how old her Emily in Paris character is, but the internet is not buying it. To find out why, keep scrolling!

By Samantha Schnurr Oct 15, 2020 6:32 PMTags
Watch: Lily Collins Reveals "Emily in Paris'" Age--And We're Confused

While fans have been caught up in the reverie that is Netflix's Emily in Paris, Lily Collins has just confirmed something about her character that proves this show is truly a fantasy. 

If you haven't fallen down the very fashionable rabbit hole and binged Sex and the City creator Darren Star's latest rom-com series, then let's get you up to speed: Collins plays the titular character, Emily Cooper, a stylish go-getter who gets offered a one-year job at her marketing firm to go to Paris after her boss (Kate Walsh) discovers she is pregnant and decides not to go. 

The opportunity is a big deal career-wise. In fact, Emily tells her boyfriend Doug in the first episode that if she goes, she's guaranteed a promotion to Senior Brand Manager when she returns. And so, the series unfolds from there.

Of the many things that viewers have raised their eyebrows at about the show, a new tidbit from Collins' latest interview with British Vogue has sparked some more chatter online. When asked how old the character is supposed to be and what her level of professional experience is, the actress revealed she's an unexpectedly young 20-something. 

"I don't believe we've ever given her a specific 'number' for her age, but I believe that she's pretty fresh out of college," Collins told the website. "Maybe this is her first year after graduation. I want to say she's like, 22-ish."

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Inside the Closet of Emily in Paris

"She's had enough experience at her company in Chicago," Collins continued, "to have earned the respect of her boss. She's a smart cookie and really innovative – and this is not her first rodeo doing what she does. She's gone to school for this, and she's completed internships. However, she's not the person who travelled during college. She was really, really focused on her jobs in the Midwest, and I don't think she's been abroad."

While no one can argue with Emily's smarts, ambition and can-do attitude, the reality of her position doesn't exactly match her supposed age—and the internet has wasted no time calling that out. 

As one tweet put it, "As if the show wasn't unrealist [sic] enough, now you're telling us she's supposed to be 22? HA! There's no way!"

"So she's 22 with a master's degree in communications or marketing?" another tweet pointed out. "No one noticed how many times they changed her masters degree? I know it's fiction but doesn't make sense irl."

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The skeptical tweets continued. "Excuse me but Emily is supposed to be 22?!" read this tweet. "And get that job transfer to Paris fresh out of college? Alrighty then."

Or, as another reasoned, "Um ⁦@lilycollins⁩, I'm not sure how to tell you this but a 22 year old with a master's degree AND relevant work experience is either a genius who graduated college at 18 or is lying about her age.."

Needless to say, some fans aren't exactly buying it, but hey—that's the magic of TV. It is, after all, make-believe.