‘Emily in Paris’: Whoops, Lily Collins Admits She Was ‘Wrong’ About Her Character’s Age
Lily Collins recently caused quite a stir when she speculated that her Emily in Paris character, Emily Cooper, is only 22 years old in the Netflix show. Collins, who is 31 years old, later corrected herself and admitted she was “wrong” about the character’s age.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for the first season of Emily in Paris.]
Lily Collins thought Emily is 22 years old
In Emily in Paris, Emily is strong-willed and opinionated when it comes to her job. She moves to Paris even though she does not speak French, and she makes questionable romantic decisions throughout the first season. In an interview with British Vogue, Collins discussed the Netflix show that has taken the world by storm.
When asked about Emily’s age, Collins replied:
“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. Maybe this is her first year after graduation. I want to say she’s like, 22-ish. She’s had enough experience at her company in Chicago 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. Basically, she’s always kind of been a big fish in a small pond – and then suddenly in Paris she’s a fish out of water. If she had gone to a different company in Chicago, she would have been taken seriously – but in Paris, she’s not prepared for the cultural shift that she experiences at Savoir. Her only real experience of Europe is through movies and TV.”
What ‘Emily in Paris’ fans thought about this
After Collins explained why she thought Emily is only 22 years old in the TV show, fans pushed back against the explanation. In Emily in Paris, Emily has a master’s degree in addition to an undergraduate degree, and she is well-respected at her company in Chicago. Because of this, fans of the Netflix show found it to be unrealistic that Emily would on be 22 years old.
“I think at best, you could earn a masters at 22 IF you’ve either skipped a grade or birthday falls late in the year and pursuing a one year/year and a half masters program… But Emily being 22 and in the position she’s in is absurd…” one Reddit user wrote.
“I took it as Lily Collins not having the average person real world experience to reference this against. Very shocked to hear as well. Watching the show I totally thought she was playing her age (30), and thought it was a millennial career woman story. At the very youngest in realistic logistics the character is late 20s,” another Reddit user wrote.
Lily Collins admitted she was ‘wrong’ about her character’s age
After those who watched Emily in Paris questioned Collins, she walked back from her previous statement about Emily’s age. On Oct. 16, Collins posted a GIF of Emily on her Instagram story and admitted she was “wrong” for thinking Emily is only 22 years old. She also posted the same statement on her Twitter account.
“Emily looking at me when I get her age wrong,” Collins wrote on Twitter. “Sorry girl. You might not be 22, but I gotta say – you do act like it sometimes!!”
So, how old is Emily in Emily in Paris? Right now, the character’s age is still not confirmed. Based on her job experience and education, one can assume she is anywhere between 25 years old and 30 years old.
