Lily Collins is a mom! On January 31, the Emily in Paris star announced that she welcomed her first child with husband Charlie McDowell.
“Welcome to the center of our world Tove Jane McDowell,” Collins wrote in her Instagram announcement. “Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again…”
Unfortunately, the response to their stunning announcement wasn’t all pleasant. The couple, who met in 2019, were met with some “unkind messages” for welcoming their daughter via surrogacy—and McDowell had the ultimate response to ignorant comments.
“It’s ok to not be an expert on surrogacy. It’s ok to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It’s ok to not know the motivations of a surrogate regardless of what you assume,” the 41-year-old filmmaker wrote in the post’s comment section. “And it’s ok to spend less time spewing hateful words into the world, especially in regards to a beautiful baby girl who has brought a lot of love into people’s lives. That’s all for now because she just pooped and I need to change her diaper.”
It’s a bonus that the director’s parents are Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, making his stepdad Ted Danson. Add Collins’s own famous father, Phil Collins, into the mix, and we can’t imagine a more interesting group of in-laws.
Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell have largely kept their relationship private without hiding their romance from the world completely. Here’s a complete timeline of their relationship, from working on their first film project to welcoming their first daughter, with the most recent updates up top.
2025
January 31, 2025: The couple announces the birth of their first daughter, Tove Jane McDowell, who they welcomed via surrogacy. “Thank you for all the kind messages and love. We are overjoyed and very grateful,” McDowell responds to their followers before shutting down “hateful words” with an iconic message.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
2024
December 1, 2024: The pair attend the opening night of London’s new musical The Devil Wears Prada—and hit up the after party.
