‘Emily in Paris’ Subtly Revealed Emily’s Age in Season 2

Remember when everyone thought Emily from Emily in Paris was in her early twenties and then we were all wrong…including Lily Collins? Well, Emily’s official age was finally revealed in season 2, which dropped on Netflix on December 22. Don’t worry, this post will not include spoilers (unless you consider her age a spoiler, I guess).

To be fair to everyone involved, Emily’s age was never mentioned throughout the first season and the bubbly American had a very youthful naiveté about her—I mean, who moves to Paris for work at a prestigious French marketing agency without even downloading Duolingo? The confusion set in when Emily’s backstory included a master’s degree and enough work experience to be sent to Savoir in lieu of her pregnant boss, played by Kate Walsh.

Her resumé just didn’t match up with a quote Collins—who is 32 years old—gave to British Vogue. “I don’t believe we’ve ever given her a specific ‘number’ for her age, but I believe that she’s pretty fresh out of college,” she said in October 2020. “Maybe this is her first year after graduation. I want to say she’s like, 22-ish.”

She continued, “She’s had enough experience at her company in Chicago to have earned the respect of her boss. She’s a smart cookie and really innovative—and this is not her first rodeo doing what she does. 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.” So how’d that master’s degree happen?

@lilyjcollins

Well, Collins was forced to correct herself after the article was published and Twitter had the chance to gently rib the actor for her error. “Emily looking at me when I get her age wrong 😂Sorry girl,” she joked on Instagram Stories at the time. “You might not be 22, but I gotta say – you do act like it sometimes!!!”

Okay, but like, how old is Emily in Emily in Paris?! The question wasn’t answered until season 2, episode 3, which centers around a birthday dinner for the American expat, despite her insistence to Mindy (Ashley Park) that it’s a “nothing birthday.” Funny enough, she tells no less than seven characters that it’s her birthday without a single one of them asking how old she is…it’s almost as if Darren Star was feeling particularly petty about the entire controversy.

In fact, Emily’s age is never said out loud and the only way for the viewer to figure it out is by looking very closely at every “happy birthday” message Emily receives on social media. In one split second, while Emily is liking and responding, we see that @TheVagaJeune wrote, “29 years Jeune! Happy birthday, @emilyinparis.”