How old is Emily in 'Emily in Paris' season 3? There are conflicting theories

Say what?! Exactly how old is Emily in 'Emily in Paris'?

Lily Collins as Emily in episode 306 of Emily in Paris
(Image credit: STÉPHANIE BRANCHU/NETFLIX)

She lives quite a lavish lifestyle, but how old is Emily in Emily in Paris

Emily in Paris season 3 is officially on Netflix as of Wednesday, December 21, yet again following the Parisian escapades and fish-out-of-water awkwardness of Emily Cooper (played by Lily Collins), a Chicago-based marketing pro who moves to France to provide an “American perspective” for the company Savoir. 

Though the character's age was never specified in the first season, we've all assumed Emily is a plucky twenty-something, based on her work experience and youthful naiveté, but Emily in Paris season 2 actually gave us an Easter egg to determine how old Miss Cooper actually is on the show. Here's what we know. 

How old is Emily in 'Emily in Paris'?  

The second season of Emily in Paris has seemingly solved the mystery of Emily Cooper's age. 

In the third episode of season 2, entitled "Bon Anniversaire!" Emily celebrates her birthday and though she never verbalizes exactly how old she's turning, we do see a reference to her age in a birthday message on one of her social media pages. 

"29 years Jeune! Happy birthday, @emilyinparis," the message reads. Translation? Throw “29 years Jeune” into Google Translate and you'll find that the phrase means "29 years young" in English. So, as of Emily in Paris season 2, Cooper is just a year shy of thirty. 

We don't see Emily celebrate a birthday in the third season, and given that it would be her big 3-0, you know this party girl would throw one chic bash to commemorate the occasion, so we're going to assume that she'll hit her thirtieth when Emily in Paris season 4 comes around. 

Twenty-nine years old is quite an age discrepancy from what star Lily Collins previously said of her character. "I don't believe we've ever given her a specific 'number' for her age," the actress Collins told British Vogue in an October 2020 interview. "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." 

22?! With that designer wardrobe? We wish!

Collins added: "She’s gone to school for this, and she’s completed internships. However, she’s not the person who traveled during college. She was really, really focused on her jobs in the Midwest, and I don’t think she’s been abroad."

At the time, the revelation caused as much of a stir as that viral Emily in Paris phone case and fans quickly took to social media to question the character's supposed age, especially as the show has revealed that Emily possesses a master's degree, an academic achievement that would be highly unlikely for someone in their early twenties. 

One Twitter said: “Excuse me but Emily is supposed to be 22?! And get that job transfer to Paris fresh out of college? Alrighty then.”

Another said: “Emily has a MASTER’S DEGREE she is not 22!!!! Lily Collins plz.”

How old is Lily Collins in 'Emily in Paris'?

Lily Collins, who portrays Emily Cooper in Emily in Paris, is currently 33 years old, a handful of years older than her famous character. Unlike Emily, who is a June baby, Collins was born on March 18, 1989. 

Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. 


More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York


When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere. 

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