Lily Collins celebrated her father Phil Collins’ milestone 75th birthday with a touching social media tribute, shared just days after the music icon discussed his ongoing health challenges.
A Warm Family Moment
The 36-year-old actress, known for her role in Emily in Paris, posted a recent photo of herself smiling alongside her retired father, paired with a nostalgic image of him holding her as a child. In her caption, Lily expressed deep gratitude and pride for his life’s work.
‘Yesterday Dad turned 75 and I feel so grateful to have celebrated together,’ she wrote. ‘For all you’ve accomplished, all the joy you’ve brought so many all over the world for all these years, all the lessons we’ve learned, all the memories we’ve shared, and all the new ones to come, thank you. I count myself so lucky to have hugged you, laughed with you, and reminisced with you on such a monumental day. Proud is an understatement. Love you to the moon and back again.’
Fans flooded the comments with warm wishes, highlighting Phil’s enduring impact. One wrote, ‘Our dad is the soundtrack to so many of our lives, especially those born in 1967 like me. Happiest to you, sir!’ Another added, ‘You’re a lucky girl. Your dad is a legend, and his music will never die. Happy birthday Phil Collins!’ Others shared, ‘Your dad’s music has brought so much joy to my life and fans worldwide’ and ‘Listening to his songs yesterday non-stop. Happy Birthday Papa Collins.’
Phil Collins’ Family and Legacy
Phil Collins, the Genesis singer and drummer, is father to five children, including Lily and two sons, Simon and Nic, who have followed in his footsteps as drummers. His career has left an indelible mark on music, but recent years have been overshadowed by health struggles.
Collins has type 2 diabetes and has dealt with complications from a spine injury sustained in 2007. He retired from touring in 2022 amid these issues.
Health Struggles Revealed
In a candid conversation with broadcaster Zoe Ball to mark his birthday, Phil opened up about his medical battles. He requires a 24-hour live-in nurse to manage his medications and has undergone five knee operations.
‘I’ve had challenges with my knee; I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me,’ he explained. ‘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’ve got a knee that works and I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever.’
Phil attributed some of his kidney problems to excessive drinking after retiring. ‘I’d probably been drinking too much, and so my kidneys were messed up,’ he said. ‘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. 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.’
Despite the setbacks, Phil remains optimistic. ‘There’s life in the old dog yet,’ he affirmed, emphasizing his commitment to better health.
Reflections on Life and Family
When Zoe Ball asked what life has taught him, Phil reflected on his adventures, bands, performances, and family. ‘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,’ he replied. ‘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.’
Looking ahead, he expressed interest in exploring new music once fully mobile. ‘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.’
Phil’s personal life has included three marriages—to Andrea Bertorelli, Jill Tavelman, and Orianne Cevey—with a notable £25 million settlement after his 2008 divorce from Cevey. The pair briefly reconciled in 2016 before parting again.
