Phil Collins’ 5 Kids: Uncover the Untold Stories Behind the Rockstar’s Biggest Legacy—From Hollywood Fame to Hidden Drumming Talents!

Phil Collins isn’t just a name echoing through the halls of progressive rock history — he’s a legend whose beats defined an era, first as Genesis’s drummer and singer, then as a solo artist with unforgettable tracks like “In the Air Tonight.” But here’s a twist you might not have expected: as he steps back from the music scene due to health challenges, a whole new generation primarily knows him as the proud dad of Lily Collins, the dazzling star of Emily in Paris. Yet, did you know this rock icon’s family tree branches out far beyond Lily? With four other children carving their own paths in music, acting, and even sports — including a couple of drummers who’ve shared the stage with him — there’s a rich legacy worth exploring. Ready to uncover the incredible stories behind the Collins clan? LEARN MORE

As the drummer and singer of Genesis, Phil Collins revolutionized progressive rock in the ’70s, and with the release of “In the Air Tonight” in 1981, he kicked off a successful solo career that would last for decades. Sadly, Collins recently announced that he’s stepping back from music due to health issues, but his name and legacy still looms large, and a younger audience now knows him as the dad of Emily in Paris star Lily Collins.

While Lily Collins has become a household name, it may surprise you to learn that Collins has four other children, two of whom have become drummers and shared the stage with him. Read on to meet Collins’ talented kids, from actors to musicians to athletes.

Joely Collins: a Canadian actress who gave her dad sage advice

Phil Collins legally adopted Joely Collins, the daughter of his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli. Joely was born in 1972, and Collins and Bertorelli were married from 1975 to 1980.

In the ’90s, Joely began her acting career, with recurring roles in shows like Neon Rider (1994), North of 60 (1997) and Madison (1997). From 2000 to 2005, she was in the cast of the Canadian police procedural series Cold Squad.

Joely also provided voiceover work for a variety of cartoons, and could be seen in films including Hideaway (1995) and Almost Heaven (2006) as well as many TV movies, most notably The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess, a 2004 Canadian true crime movie in which she played the title character. She most recently had a small role in the 2020 horror sequel Brahms: The Boy II.

In addition to acting, Joely has worked behind the camera, directing Summer Love: The Documentary, a documentary about rave culture in which she appeared alongside her brother, Simon Collins, in 1999, and producing projects like Becoming Redwood (2012), Coded (2015) and Never Broken (2022).

Joely married Stefan Buitelaar in 2008. The couple has a daughter.

In a New York Times interview in 2016, Phil Collins credited Joely with helping him come out of retirement, saying, “It’s very dangerous, as my oldest daughter, Joely, told me, to stop doing what you’ve done all your life. I joined Genesis when I was 19. I was drumming from the age of 5. You’re taking away something that makes you tick. When she said that a few years ago, when I first retired, that stayed with me.”

Simon Collins: a second-generation drummer-singer

Phil Collins and Andrea Bertorelli’s son, Simon Collins, was born in 1976.

Simon followed in his famous father’s footsteps and began playing drums as a child. As a teen, he regularly performed with his dad on tour, and he became a DJ in the ’90s rave scene, as depicted in his sister Joely’s movie Summer Love: The Documentary.

Simon released his debut album, All of Who You Are, in 1999. Three more albums followed.He paid tribute to his dad with a cover of the Genesis song “Keep It Dark” in 2007, and Collins appeared on his 2008 song “The Big Bang.” From 2009 to 2018 Simon was the frontman of the rock band Sound of Contact.

Simon went through some personal drama around the time his band broke up, including a divorce and a battle with addiction, but he came back with his most recent album, Becoming Human, in 2020.

As a drummer and singer in the progressive rock genre, comparisons between Simon and his dad are inevitable, but when asked about the potential pressures of having a musical icon as a parent, Simon took things in stride, saying, “I think if I . . . let that pressure get the better of me, I don’t think I would be able to do what I do. To me, he’s just dad. I . . . went into making music when I was very young. I grew up on tour around Genesis and around those amazing musicians and it had a deep impact on my life. My dad’s always been supportive. I’ve always been very confident in my ability to write music and to perform. For me, I define success in a slightly different way than maybe other people would think. For me, I consider myself successful if I can inspire someone to take another look at something from a different perspective.”

Lily Collins: the A-list star of ‘Emily in Paris’

The most famous of Phil Collins’ children, Lily Collins, was born to the rocker and his second wife, teacher-turned-antique shop owner Jill Tavelman, in 1989. Collins and Tavelman were married from 1984 to 1996, and Lily was the only child they had together.

Lily made her screen debut at just 2 years old in the BBC series Growing Pains (1992) and she voiced a baby ape in the 1999 Disney movie Tarzan, which featured “You’ll Be in My Heart,” a tender ballad Collins wrote in tribute to her. In a sweet full-circle moment, on Father’s Day, Lily shared a throwback clip of her dad talking about the song and her reaction to it on her Instagram page, writing, “Still saying ‘That’s my dad!’ 25 years later. But now, I get to play the film for my own daughter, who will one day point at the screen and say ‘That’s my grandpa!’”

As a teen, Lily became a model and debutante, but it wasn’t all glamorous, as she struggled with an eating disorder, an experience she covered in her 2017 memoir, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me and in the film To the Bone that same year.

Lily first received attention for her supporting role in the sports drama The Blind Side (2009). She then starred as Snow White in Mirror Mirror (2012) and appeared in films including Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), Love, Rosie (2014), Rules Don’t Apply (2016), Okja (2017), Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), Mank (2020) and Windfall (2022).

Lily is best known for playing the title character in the hit Netflix show Emily in Paris, and has won over audiences with her portrayal as a stylish young American navigating work, life and love while abroad. The frothy rom-com debuted in 2020 and will air its fifth season later this year, and many young viewers are now more familiar with Lily than Phil.

Lily became part of a nepo baby power couple when she married director Charlie McDowell, the son of actors Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, in 2021. They welcomed a daughter via surrogate earlier this year.

Lily has been open about having a sometimes tense relationship with her dad, and wrote in her memoir that she forgave him for the mistakes he made by not being fully present during her childhood. In 2022, she said, “I’m so incredibly proud of what my surname represents, for what my dad’s done. And I’m an incredibly proud daughter, but I am going on my own path, my own journey.”

Nic Collins: the youngest drummer in the musical family

Nicholas Collins was born to Phil and his third wife, jewelry designer Orianne Cevey, in 2001. Collins and Cevey were married from 1999 to 2006.

Like his father and older half-brother, Nic became a drummer, and he joined Collins on tour when he was just 15. He was then a touring drummer for Genesis from 2020 to 2022, and toured with Mike and the Mechanics, a group led by his dad’s Genesis bandmate Mike Rutherford, in 2023.

Nic started a band of his own, Better Strangers, in 2022. The next year, he formed another band, the Effect, with another rock star’s kid, Trev Lukather, the son of Toto guitarist Steve Lukather.

Reflecting on working with his dad, Nic said, “I want to prove to people I can do things too, that I’m not just in my dad’s shadow. I want to make myself live up to the expectations. You got to keep on working harder so you’re not just remembered for being Phil Collins’ son, but you’re remembered for doing something that people enjoyed.”

Matthew Collins: a footballer in Austria

Matthew Collins, the youngest of Phil Collins’ children, was born to the musician and his third wife in 2004.

Matthew is currently a soccer player (or as the Brits call it, a footballer) on the Austrian team WSG Tirol, and has been playing with them since 2023. This year, he shared a sweet photo of him and his dad after winning one of his games with the caption, “2 big wins today!”