The Best Lily Collins Movies & TV Shows, Ranked
Lily Collins has been in the entertainment business long enough to accumulate a wide-ranging filmography across the big and small screens. Every project may not be the apple of critics’ eyes, but they don’t need to be. A movie or a TV show doesn’t have to be perfect to be enjoyable or memorable. Since her TV debut in two episodes of Growing Pains (1992) and her on-screen film debut in The Blind Side (2009), Collins’ career has evolved.
She became one of Hollywood’s go-to castings during the peak of YA media in the 2010s, starring in projects like Abduction (2011) opposite Taylor Lautner. She has also gone on to play several real people, including J. R. R. Tolkien’s wife, Edith Bratt, in Tolkien (2019). That trend will continue when Collins plays the extraordinary Audrey Hepburn in a film about the classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). So what better time than now to look back at all of Lily Collins’ best movies and TV shows? Catch them on Netflix, Starz, and more!
This movie doesn’t put much of a creative spin on the original story, which makes it all the more interesting that Mirror Mirror (2012) released the same year as Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). Therefore, the comparisons create themselves. Where Mirror Mirror stands out is the fashion; it’s all visually stunning—Snow White’s swan dress, especially. The fabrics’ saturation almost feels nostalgic, given how many movies are one-scale today.
The changes that Mirror Mirror makes are reminiscent of the 2010s, like Snow White rescuing the Prince instead of the opposite. Obviously, there’s an expectation for even more agency and depth for princesses in 2026. However, I remember those changes and the movie’s discussions about beauty standards sticking out to a younger me far more than the actual romance. Although it’s tough to ask anything to rival watching Collins’ Snow White and Julia Roberts’ Evil Queen go toe-to-toe.
Bong Joon Ho’s Okja (2017) is easily one of the highest-rated movies in Lily Collins’ filmography, but it’s also one in which she has a smaller role. Collins plays Red, the only woman on a team of animal rights activists called the Animal Liberation Front. She is among an impressive ensemble, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Tilda Swinton, Steven Yeun, and Seo-Hyeon Ahn. While her part is less significant, Collins’ performance makes Red’s bravery and passion for activism stand out as a memorable role in the actress’s filmography.
Okja is also the start of Collins’ collaboration with Netflix that continues with To the Bone (2017). This movie’s “superpig” also taps into the science-fiction fever pitch that Stranger Things (2016) reignited the year before. The care for the creature also creates a bit of nostalgia that can be traced back to the staple, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
This movie has had quite a resurgence on a certain part of the internet as new readers find Cassandra Clare’s books, on which the movie is based, on TikTok. Some of the revived conversations also stem from Jamie Campbell Bower’s incredible performance in Stranger Things’ final season. A deep dive into his filmography eventually leads them to The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), where he plays Jace Wayland opposite Lily Collins’ Clary Fray. The chemistry Collins and Campbell Bower have in this movie makes it.
They’re a definitive pairing from the 2010s book-to-movie adaptations, such as Divergent (2014) and The Hunger Games (2012). That said, this one isn’t the best adaptation of the source material, but it had so much action, romance, and potential. All of which, Collins was at the center of as the protagonist of what could’ve been the next great YA film franchise.
Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile (2019) is actually one of my favorite performances from Zac Efron, and I’ve been a fan of his since High School Musical (2006), if not earlier. However, Lily Collins’ performance as Ted Bundy’s girlfriend, Liz Kendall, should not be overlooked. Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile would not be the same without Collins. Her performance is the heart of the movie, as the story moves through her character.
Instead of using Efron’s Bundy as the focal point, Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile finds its lens through Liz’s eyes. Of course, Liz’s arc is a really emotional, harrowing one as she realizes the truth about the man she loved and trusted with herself and her child. Collins hits all of those notes. It helps that she and Efron have incredible chemistry throughout their characters’ journeys. There’s a reason why their Best Friend Test for Glamour went viral six years ago.
Admittedly, Stuck in Love (2012) has to make this list because of how much I adore it. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies, and part of that is because of Lily Collins. She plays Sam, an up-and-coming writer and the daughter of a famous author. The movie is an underrated family drama with a soundtrack straight out of the 2010s. The opening sequence is set to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ “Home!”
Stuck in Love also tells this tender love story between Sam, who is grappling with a less-than-idealized vision of love after her parents’ separation, and Logan Lerman’s Louis. That storyline tees up one of my favorite needle drops in a movie with Elliot Smith’s “Between the Bars.” Other than that storyline, Collins also delivers a moving performance as Sam’s walls start to fall around her mother, played by Jennifer Connelly, which couldn’t be better casting.
This TV miniseries shouldn’t be as little-known in Lily Collins’ filmography as it is. This story has been told so many times in so many ways across practically every medium. Still, I remember seeing that Collins would be playing Fantine and eagerly searching for ways to watch Les Misérables (2019). After all the movies I’d watched with Collins in the 2010s, I was excited to see how her talent had matured to take on such a role, and she’s absolutely impressive.
One could even argue—and this list does—that her turn as Fantine is one of the best performances in her career. Collins pours so much energy into the emotional and tragic arc for this character. As someone who also loves Anne Hathaway’s performance in the same role in Les Misérables (2012), it’s exciting to have both of these takes on such an iconic character across film and TV.
What’s a tenured career in film and TV without a staple romantic comedy? At a time when romantic comedies are more often than not remakes and sequels, Love, Rosie (2014) stands out with other additions to the genre like Set It Up (2019) and Rye Lane (2023). It’s a sweet, friends-to-lovers story adapted from Cecelia Ahern’s “Where Rainbows End.” Collins stars as the titular character with Sam Claflin playing her best friend, Alex.
Refreshingly, Love, Rosie embraces both sides of the genre, finding genuine points of humor and sweeping romance. The movie is vibrant as it spans over a decade with the charming (and sometimes frustrating) characters. The obstacles that Alex and Rosie face are never all that frustrating. Collins and Claflin’s chemistry makes the moments of connection—a hug at an airport, a catch-up about a significant life change, and that eventual Happily Ever After—the ultimate reward.
Lily Collins and Netflix team up once again for one of the streamer’s longest-running comedy series, Emily in Paris (2020). Emily Cooper is the longest time that Collins has spent with a character in her career. Over the last five seasons, one of the biggest questions that looms over the series is how long Emily has really been in Paris. Sometimes, the show’s timeline causes more of a stir online than who Emily will end up in a relationship with next.
Personally, I see Emily in Paris circling back to the vibes of Season 1 and reuniting Emily with Gabriel before all is said and done. Regardless, there’s no denying that this show hasn’t always been the critics’ darling, but it doesn’t need to be to pull in the viewership that it does every single season. The show’s levity and whimsy, as well as some fascinating fashion, keep bringing audiences back.
