Lily Collins paid a touching tribute to her father, Phil Collins, on his 75th birthday, just days after discussing his significant health challenges.
The “Emily in Paris” actress, 36, shared her sentiments on Instagram, posting a current photo of them together along with a nostalgic image of Phil holding her as a child.
Lily beamed as she cosied up to her father, who retired in 2022, and penned a gushing caption about how proud she was of all his accomplishments.
In her message, Lily expressed, “Yesterday, Dad turned 75, and I feel incredibly grateful to have celebrated together. For everything you’ve achieved and the joy you’ve spread to countless people around the globe over the years.”
She continued, “Thank you for all the lessons we’ve learned, the memories we’ve cherished, and the ones we have yet to make. I’m so fortunate to have hugged you, laughed with you, and reminisced on such a significant day.”
Lily concluded her heartfelt message with, “Proud is an understatement. Love you to the moon and back again…”
Lily Collins shared a heartfelt tribute to her music legend father Phil as they celebrated his 75th birthday on Saturday, days after opening up about his devastating health woes
The Emily In Paris star took to Instagram with a rare snap of the pair marking the milestone, as well as a throwback of the hitmaker carrying her as a child
Fans were quick to join in the celebration, with one commenting, “Your dad is the soundtrack to so many of our lives, especially for those of us born in 1967. Happiest birthday to you, sir!”
While others added: ‘You’re a lucky girl. Your dad is a legend, and his music will never die. Happy bd phil collins!’: ‘Your dad ‘s music has brought so much joy to my life and fans worldwide’: ‘Listening his songs yesterday non stop Happy Birthday papa Collins’: ‘Those are truly beautiful words, Lily! Congratulations to your father’.
Phil is the father of five children, including three sons and two daughters – one of whom is Lily, while two of his sons, Simon and Nic, have gone on to become drummers, just like him.
It’s been well documented that the Genesis singer and drummer suffers from type 2 Diabetes and complications from a spine injury which manifested itself in 2007.
And now he reveals he’s had five knee operations, has a 24-hour live-in nurse and admits his kidneys have packed up through boozing.
But… he says, there is ‘life in the old dog yet’.
Phil spoke openly about recent years marked when multiple health issues converged, and his recovery journey, saying he has been taking care of himself.
Speaking with Zoe Ball for Eras – In Conversation for BBC Two to celebrate his birthday, he said: ‘Yeah, it’s an ongoing thing. You know I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do.
Lily penned a gushing caption about how proud she was of all his incredible accomplishments after retiring amid health woes (Phil pictured on stage in 2017)
‘Yesterday Dad turned 75 and I feel so grateful to have celebrated together. For all you’ve accomplished, all the joy you’ve brought so many all over the world for ALL these years,’
Fans were also quick to share their congratulations
‘I’ve had challenges with my knee, I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me. I got COVID in hospital – my kidneys started to back up, you know, everything that started that could, all seemed to converge at the same time.
‘I had five operations on my knee now – I’ve got a knee that works and I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever.
‘I’d probably been drinking too much, and so my kidneys were messed up, you know. I enjoyed coming off tour, coming off the road, but I thought, right, I’m gonna do all those things that I couldn’t do.’
He continued: ‘I wasn’t one of those guys that sort of stayed up all night drinking, I’d drink during the day, but I guess I had too much of it. I was never drunk, although I fell over a couple of times. But, it is just one of those things that happened and it all caught up with me and I spent months in hospital.’
Phil has had something of a chequered love life, with marriages to Andrea Bertorelli, Jill Tavelman and Orianne Cevey.
Phil was reported to have paid Orianne a record-breaking £25million after they split in 2008 after a nine-year marriage. They reconciled in 2016 for a short while but split for a second time.
Phil detailed his health issues in a new interview with Zoe Ball as he said: ‘I’ve had five knee operations, I have a 24-hour live in nurse and my kidneys packed up through boozing’
Zoe asked Phil: ‘What has life taught you? Do you think, through all the adventures you have had, the amazing bands that you’ve played with people you’ve performed with, when you look back at it or what has life taught? Your incredible family as well. Five amazing kids…’
He replied: ‘I guess there’s a part of me that’s trying to make up for things that I’ve either done or have made people feel. Or affected the kids in any kind of negative way. I mean, I had a very happy family life.
‘My kids are amazingly well adjusted considering some of the things that they’ve been through, you know? And as I said before, I’m very, very proud of all of them.
‘They’ve all stood on their own and done what they believe in. So I feel very lucky about that. But I think, you know, I couldn’t have wished for a more varied and eventful playing career. I don’t have periods when I kind of dig me.
‘The things that are ahead for me would be, apart from just being back to being totally mobile and healthy, is go in there and have a fiddle about and see if there’s more music ’cause you know, you tend to sort of feel, that’s it, I’ve done that.
‘But you’ve gotta start doing it to see if you can do it. Otherwise you don’t do it. So that is something on my horizon.’
