Lily Collins Revealed Her Emily in Paris Character's Age & It's Surprising

Emily in Paris is the latest Netflix show that's left all of Twitter talking. Whether you loved it or hated it, you can't seem to escape Lily Collins' turn as the titular Emily. For those who've managed to avoid binge-watching all of Emily in Paris, as well as the internet's fervent debate over whether it's good or bad, here's the show's official synopsis:

Chicago marketing executive Emily Cooper is hired to provide an American perspective at a marketing firm in Paris.

During a chat with British Vogue, Collins dropped some interesting intel on her character. According to 31-year-old Collins, Emily is almost a full decade younger than she is. "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 revealed. "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," Collins continued. "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."

Collins' comments on Emily's age stirred up even more fervor about the show on Twitter, with many pointing out the character's background—she has a master's degree in marketing and got a major, international promotion at the start of the series—doesn't quite make sense for a 22-year-old. Viewers took to Twitter to share their opinions on the subject after Collins' comments started going viral.

While Collins' comments about Emily's age didn't quite add up, she did shed some light on Emily's naïveté that does make total sense. "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," Collins added. "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."

It turns out Emily wasn't the only naive one, either. Collins told British Vogue that she committed many of the same faux pas as Emily while she was in Paris to film the show. "When I got to Paris for filming, I actually had so many experiences like Emily – to the point that I asked the team, 'Are you planning this to try and give me more empathy for her? I already havee mpathy for her!' " Collins said. "I mean, the heating in my apartment broke for two weeks; I got the floor wrong in my building; my elevator stopped working … I even nearly stepped in dog poop. It’s a cliché, but it’s also a fundamentally human scenario."

"In the end, it’s all about Emily’s attitude," Collins concluded. "She just gets through it, and she does it with a little bit of humor."

Photo: Netflix


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