Emily in Paris star Lily Collins says 'I forgive you' in sad open letter to famous dad

Lily Collins opened up about her strained relationship with her famous dad, and said many of her issues stemmed from their rocky bond which crumbled after his third divorce

Lily Collins' relationship with her father has been turbulent at times - but one letter changed everything for the star.

Lily, best known for her role as Emily Cooper in Emily in Paris, is the daughter of music legend Phil Collins. She wrote the heartfelt letter in her autobiography Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, which detailed the strained relationship she has with her dad.

The Netflix actress has recently hinted at a potential 'Emily in London' spin-off after the huge success of Emily in Paris, which may also help bring her closer to her father, taking her back to her British roots.

Phil, who is from London, has five children with three different women, and his daughter Lily has revealed she doesn't hold it against her father for the 'mistakes' he made and told him there's still time to move on from their issues.

Lily was born in Surrey, and is the only child from her father's second marriage to American Jill Tavelman. She was just five when her parents split up, and her dad moved to Switzerland for the next 20 years. Lily and her mother, an antiques dealer, moved to Los Angeles in 1994, and would then only see her dad in school holidays.

The 32-year-old actress has picked up several awards over the years, but while her career skyrocketed, she was sad she didn't have her father to turn to when she needed. She decided to write an open letter to him in her novel published in 2017 where she laid out her true feelings.

She detailed: "I forgive you for not always being there when I needed and for not being the dad I expected. I forgive the mistakes you made. And although it may seem like it's too late, it's not. There's still so much time to move forward."

The star added: "We all make choices and, although I don't excuse some of yours, at the end of the day we can't rewrite the past. I'm learning how to accept your actions and vocalise how they made me feel. I accept and honour the sadness and anger I felt toward the things you did or didn't do, did or didn't give me."

The actress also opened up in her honest memoir about her battle with anorexia and bulimia - something she links to the stress caused by her father's divorce from his third wife, Orianne Cevey, in 2008. Recalling the tough time, she said: "Not only did I start viewing myself differently physically, but I began limiting my happiness by controlling my eating habits.

"I couldn't handle the pain and confusion surrounding my dad's divorce, and I was having a hard time balancing being a teenager with pursuing two different grown-up careers." She also noted how the "terrible disconnect" grew between her and her father as she got older, struggling with living so far away from him and confessed: "Many of my deepest insecurities stem from these issues with my dad."

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