Lily Jane Collins was born on March 18, 1989, in Guildford, Surrey, England. She is the daughter of English musician Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman, who served as president of the Beverly Hills Women's Club for three terms. After her parents' separation, Collins moved to Los Angeles with her mother at the age of five. She has a diverse heritage, including Russian Jewish, English, and German ancestry. Collins began her acting career at the age of two with a role in the BBC series "Growing Pains" in 1992. Despite her early start in acting, her primary interest during her youth was journalism. She graduated from Harvard-Westlake School and attended the University of Southern California, where she majored in broadcast journalism.

Collins gained significant attention for her role in the film "The Blind Side" (2009), where she co-starred as the daughter of characters played by Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock. She continued to build her career with notable roles in films such as "Mirror Mirror" (2012), "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" (2013), and "Love, Rosie" (2014). More recently, she has starred in the popular TV series "Emily in Paris" (2020–2024), portraying the character Emily Cooper. Collins has also appeared in other projects like "Mank" (2020), "Inheritance" (2020), and the TV mini-series "Les Misérables" (2018–2019). Her diverse roles and performances have earned her nominations and awards, including a Primetime Emmy nomination.