Lily Collins Revealed Her Character's Age on Emily in Paris, and We Have Some Questions

By Kelsie Gibson
EMILY IN PARIS (L to R) LILY COLLINS as EMILY in episode 101 of EMILY IN PARIS Cr. STEPHANIE BRANCHU/NETFLIX 2020
Netflix
Netflix

Emily in Paris first premiered on Oct. 2, and while the Netflix is the perfect escape show for some, there are also a lot of storylines that have left people scratching their heads. However, the latest revelation about Emily Cooper's real age might be the most confusing of all. In a recent interview with Vogue, actress Lily Collins revealed that she thinks her character is actually "22-ish," and I'm sorry, huh? I definitely imagined the character being in her 20s, but if Emily is 22, wouldn't that mean she just got out of college? If that's the case, how does she have a master's degree in marketing? Here are even more questions I'm wondering now that we know her real age:

  • Is Emily actually a genius? Not only does she have a master's degree at such a young age, but she already has so much responsibility at her new job. She's on her way to becoming a senior brand manager, which is definitely not a job you get straight out of college with little-to-no experience. Did she skip a whole bunch of grades or something?
  • Is Emily not as big of a Gossip Girl fan as she made us believe? If Emily is 22, that means she was about 9 when Gossip Girl first premiered. Something tells me she wasn't watching the CW series when it aired, but she makes it sound like she's SUCH a huge fan. Did she just binge-watch the series on Netflix later in life?
  • How is Emily wearing all of those designer clothes? Assuming she did graduate recently, wouldn't she have a ton of student loans to pay off? How is she walking around in designer brands like Chanel? (No, really, teach me your ways, Emily!)
  • Why was Emily so surprised about Timothée's age? After hooking up with Camille's brother, she seems so horrified by the fact that he's 17, when in actuality, there's only a five-year age difference between them. She also seems confused why he's 17 and out of college, but if my genius theory is correct, it sounds like Emily graduated college pretty early as well.
  • So, Emily is actually a Gen Z-er? All this time, Emily in Paris has been marketed as Sex and the City for millennials, but if she's 22, that actually makes her a Gen Z-er. I'm so confused!
  • How come the Emily in Paris soundtrack doesn't include any Taylor Swift bops? If Emily is truly 22, I would have expected at least one reference to the iconic Taylor Swift track of the same name. You know Emily probably has Red saved on her iPhone playlist! With that gorgeous Paris backdrop, I know I'd be replaying "Begin Again" on repeat and reenacting the music video every chance I get.