Lily Collias Biography 2026: Age, Height, Career, Good One, Roofman, Cape Fear, The Young People & Facts

Lily Collias is one of the most exciting young actresses to emerge from American independent cinema in recent years. With a breakout performance that earned her “a star is born” accolades at Sundance and Cannes, the French-Greek-American talent has quickly graduated from intimate indie dramas to high-profile projects alongside Channing Tatum, Nicole Kidman, and David Fincher. At just 21 or 22 years old, Collias has already demonstrated a rare ability to convey profound emotional depth through silence, positioning her as a defining voice for a new generation of naturalistic performers.

Quick Facts

Early Life & Education

Lily Collias was born around 2004 or 2005 in West Los Angeles, California, to a Greek father who works in business and a French mother. Neither parent worked in the entertainment industry, but they were deeply supportive of Lily’s creative ambitions. She grew up in a bilingual household, speaking French with her mother at home, and spent childhood summers at her grandmother’s remote village in northern France—a rural setting that encouraged imaginative outdoor play far removed from her urban Los Angeles life.

Her family’s home was right by The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, a beloved repertory cinema that became her film education. She watched classics from a young age, with her mother introducing her to “cool movies” like Amélie. As a depressed teenager, her cat Billy, a creamy fluffy cat with bright blue eyes, was her “knight in shining armor.”

She attended Santa Monica High School, where she did not participate in the school’s theater program, finding it “cliquey and weird.” After graduation, she enrolled at The New School in New York City for the fall 2023 semester to study drama, but paused her education after Good One‘s success to pursue acting full-time.

Career Journey

Early Training and Short Films (2012–2022)

Collias developed an interest in acting from around age eight. Her mother researched acting schools online and drove her to classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Hollywood, where she studied method acting. She also trained in the Meisner Technique at a small local studio in Los Angeles. Her early work includes short films: Mixed Messages (2018), I Thought We Were Friends (2018), and Cafe Scene (2019).

Her feature film debut came in 2022 with Palm Trees and Power Lines, directed by Jamie Dack, where she played the supporting role of Emma. She booked the part after a casting director reached out to her through Instagram.

Breakthrough: Good One (2024)

Collias’s life changed in January 2024 when Good One, the feature film in which she stars, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Directed by India Donaldson, the film follows Sam, a 17-year-old queer girl on a tense camping trip with her father (James Le Gros) and his best friend (Danny McCarthy).

The casting came through serendipity: Donaldson had been searching for Sam for two months when she asked her younger sister Octavia for suggestions. Octavia—Collias’s best friend—recommended her. “I think she only said that because she was at my house the night prior,” Collias has joked.

The film was shot over just 12 days in the summer of 2023 in Brooklyn and the Catskills. Collias had never camped before and found the wilderness foreign to her urban upbringing. To prepare, she wrote fictional diary entries from Sam’s perspective. Her performance—conveying volumes through silence and subtle facial expressions—earned universal acclaim.

Good One traveled to the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 (Directors’ Fortnight section) and holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Vogue described her as having “astonishing assuredness,” while i-D dubbed her “the new final girl of American adolescence.”

Awards and Nominations for Good One

• Gotham Independent Film Award — Breakthrough Performer (Nominated, 2024)
• Greater Western New York Film Critics Association — Breakthrough Performance (Nominated, 2024)
• New York Film Critics Online — Breakthrough Performance (Nominated, 2024)
• Chicago Film Critics Association — Most Promising Performer (Nominated, 2024)
• Chlotrudis Award — Best Breakout Performance (Won, 2025)

Roofman (2025)

In 2025, Collias starred as Lindsay Wainscott in Roofman, a crime comedy directed by Derek Doneen and based on the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, a “polite” McDonald’s rooftop burglar played by Channing Tatum. Collias plays Lindsay, the teenage daughter of Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a woman who becomes romantically involved with Manchester while he hides in a Toys “R” Us. The ensemble cast also includes LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Dinklage, Ben Mendelsohn, and Uzo Aduba. The film holds an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cape Fear (2026)

Collias makes her television debut in the Apple TV+ limited series adaptation of Cape Fear, directed by David Fincher and starring Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, and Patrick Wilson. She plays Natalie Bowden in the prestige psychological thriller.

The Young People (2026)

She joins the ensemble of The Young People, a horror-thriller directed by Osgood Perkins (Longlegs, The Monkey) for Neon. The cast includes Nicole Kidman, Tatiana Maslany, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville, Lola Tung, and Nico Parker. Plot details are under wraps, but production is underway in Vancouver.

Altar (TBA)

Collias also stars in Altar, an A24 horror film directed by Egor Abramenko (Sputnik) alongside January Jones, Kyle MacLachlan, and David Krumholtz. The film follows a young boy confronting supernatural forces during a family crisis.

Career Stats

Film:

• Mixed Messages (2018) — Short film
• I Thought We Were Friends (2018) — Short film
• Cafe Scene (2019) — Short film
• Palm Trees and Power Lines (2022) — Emma
• Good One (2024) — Sam
• Roofman (2025) — Lindsay Wainscott
• Altar (TBA) — A24 horror
• The Young People (2026) — Post-production

Television:

• Cape Fear (2026) — Natalie Bowden — Apple TV+ limited series

Awards:

• Chlotrudis Award — Best Breakout Performance (2025, Won)
• Gotham Independent Film Award — Breakthrough Performer (2024, Nominated)
• Chicago Film Critics Association — Most Promising Performer (2024, Nominated)
• Multiple critics’ association nominations for Breakthrough Performance (2024)

Personal Life

Family and Relationships

Collias keeps her romantic life private. As of 2026, there are no confirmed public relationships. She is close to her family, including her older brother, whom she has mentioned in interviews. Her parents’ intercultural marriage—Greek father, French mother—shaped her bilingual, bicultural upbringing.

Hobbies and Interests

Collias is a voracious consumer of art and culture. In New York, she immerses herself in the city’s creative scene, attending theater productions, art exhibitions, repertory cinemas, and Broadway shows. She has expressed interest in seeing Oh, Mary! on Broadway and recently saw Pre-Existing Condition. She is an avid reader; at the time of her Good One press tour, she was reading Blake Butler’s grief memoir Molly.

Her creative pursuits extend beyond acting. She has taken welding classes, paints, and writes plays and screenplays. She surrounds herself with friends from diverse artistic fields and describes her approach to creativity as learning “what connects me to life.” She also has a deep appreciation for music, including Arthur Russell, whose music she recognized playing in a café during an interview.

Fashion

Following Good One‘s Sundance premiere, Louis Vuitton reached out to dress her—she initially thought it was a scam. She has since developed a personal style that leans heavily black, attending the Louis Vuitton anniversary show in Paris and marveling at Nicolas Ghesquière’s designs.

Controversies

Lily Collias has maintained a completely clean public profile. There are no known legal issues, scandals, or professional disputes. She has navigated her rapid rise with humility and groundedness, frequently acknowledging how new she is to the industry.

Awards & Achievements

• Chlotrudis Award — Best Breakout Performance for Good One (2025, Won)
• Gotham Independent Film Award — Breakthrough Performer for Good One (2024, Nominated)
• Chicago Film Critics Association — Most Promising Performer (2024, Nominated)
• Greater Western New York Film Critics Association — Breakthrough Performance (2024, Nominated)
• New York Film Critics Online — Breakthrough Performance (2024, Nominated)
• Sundance Film Festival — Good One premiered in U.S. Dramatic Competition (2024)
• Cannes Film Festival — Good One screened in Directors’ Fortnight (2024)
• Rotten Tomatoes — Good One holds 98% rating; Roofman holds 87% rating

Physical Statistics

Quotes

“Our objective was to make the movie as unbiased as possible. Because everyone in it is so broken in their own way and just trying to find themselves through it. So we didn’t want it to feel like a statement.”
— On the approach to Good One.

“I just don’t know if I’ll ever get used to seeing my daughter cry.”
— Her father’s reaction after watching Good One at Sundance, a moment she says she’ll remember forever.

“I want to do it justice by curating and really loving the projects that I work on. I don’t take that lightly.”
— On choosing her post-Good One roles.

Favorites

Earnings

Lily Collias’s estimated net worth is between $500,000 and $2 million as of 2026. Her income sources include:

• Film salaries: Good One, Roofman, The Young People, Altar
• Television: Cape Fear (Apple TV+ limited series)
• Brand partnerships: Louis Vuitton fashion relationship
• Potential endorsements: Growing profile suggests future opportunities

She is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and CAA (Creative Artists Agency), one of Hollywood’s top talent agencies—signaling significant industry confidence in her future earning potential.

Interesting Facts

• Never Camped Before Good One: Despite the film’s central camping trip, Collias had never camped in her life and found the Catskills wilderness completely foreign to her Santa Monica upbringing.
• Instagram Discovery: She booked her first feature film role in Palm Trees and Power Lines after a casting director DM’d her on Instagram.
• Louis Vuitton “Scam”: When Louis Vuitton first reached out after Sundance, she thought it was a scam account.
• Best Friend Casting: She got the Good One role because her best friend Octavia is director India Donaldson’s half-sister.
• College Dropout (For Now): She left The New School after one semester because they took away her scholarship when she tried to go part-time, and she felt she learned more on set than in class.
• Cat Lover: Her childhood cat Billy, with bright blue eyes, was her “knight in shining armor” during a difficult teenage period.
• Multilingual: She speaks French fluently, having spoken it at home with her mother and during summers in France.

Did You Know Already?

• Did you know Lily Collias won the Chlotrudis Award for Best Breakout Performance for Good One?
• Did you know she had never been camping before filming Good One in the Catskills?
• Did you know she was cast in Good One because her best friend is the director’s half-sister?
• Did you know she is represented by both Brillstein Entertainment Partners and CAA?
• Did you know she is making her TV debut in David Fincher’s Cape Fear on Apple TV+?

Social Media Links

• Instagram: @lilycollias (Official)
• IMDb: Lily Collias
• Rotten Tomatoes: Lily Collias
• Wikipedia: Lily Collias
• Letterboxd: Lily Collias

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Lily Collias?
Lily Collias was born around 2004–2005, making her approximately 21–22 years old as of 2026.

What is Lily Collias famous for?
She is best known for her breakout role as Sam in the 2024 indie film Good One, which premiered at Sundance and Cannes to critical acclaim.

Is Lily Collias in Cape Fear?
Yes, she plays Natalie Bowden in the Apple TV+ limited series adaptation directed by David Fincher, released in 2026.

What is Lily Collias’s ethnicity?
She is of mixed Greek and French descent. Her father is Greek and her mother is French.

What awards has Lily Collias won?
She won the Chlotrudis Award for Best Breakout Performance (2025) and was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award, Chicago Film Critics Association award, and multiple critics’ association honors.

What is Lily Collias doing now?
As of 2026, she appears in Cape Fear (Apple TV+), has The Young People (2026) and Altar (A24) in post-production, and is represented by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Where did Lily Collias go to school?
She attended Santa Monica High School and briefly studied at The New School in New York before leaving to pursue acting full-time.

Conclusion

Lily Collias’s ascent from a Santa Monica teenager taking welding classes to a Cannes-anointed, CAA-represented actress working with David Fincher and Nicole Kidman is one of the most remarkable breakout stories in recent independent cinema. Her performance in Good One proved that silence can speak louder than dialogue, that a watchful gaze can carry an entire film, and that a young woman from a non-industry family can captivate the world’s most prestigious festivals. With Cape Fear, The Young People, and Altar all on the horizon, Collias is not just having a moment—she is building a career defined by artistic integrity, cultural depth, and an unmistakable on-screen presence. Hollywood has found its new final girl, and she is just getting started.

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