Despite early reports that Emily in Paris’s effervescent young protagonist Emily Cooper is “fresh out of college,” new, intriguing evidence has come to light. Turns out, actress Lily Collins is a
living poster child for Blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again?” and hasn’t a clue when her character was born. Relatable!
When asked about the marketing professional’s unaddressed age during the first season, Collins told British Vogue, “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.” In hindsight, this makes next to no sense, considering Emily is supposed to have a master’s degree and the confidence of her Midwest boss, and surely that relationship took more than a few months to build? Ah, well. C’est la vie!
Although Collins did address the fan consternation with a self-deprecating Instagram story last year—“You might not be 22, but I gotta say - you do act like it sometimes!!!”—fans didn’t get a final answer until Emily in Paris season 2 dropped on Dec. 22. Now, we know for sure: Emil-ee in Par-ee is apparently 29.
The big reveal isn’t, actually, a big reveal; no one in the series ever directly addresses Emily’s age. But during episode 3, Emily’s friends and co-workers host a birthday party for her outside her apartment, and as she prepares for the night’s festivities, she receives numerous comments and DMs from her inexplicable legion of Instagram followers. The Vaga-Jeune account, in particular, is bold enough to share her age with the whole world: “29 years Jeune! Happy birthday, @emilyinparis.”
Given Collins herself is 32, this much more subtle age difference makes a lot of sense. But, look, we can all understand the desire to relive your Taylor Swift year. But as the legend herself recently proved, feeling 32 can be just as joyful. Happy birthday, Em. Maybe you and that grandma from TikTok should celebrate together.