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‘Emily in Paris’ star Lily Collins on why she ‘didn’t want to change’ famous last name

The "Emily in Paris" star had to "fight" to make a name for herself in Hollywood.

Lily Collins is making her own way in Hollywood.

As the daughter of Genesis frontman Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman, Collins has struggled with distancing herself from her family. When she first started acting, she recalled what it was like to always be in her father's shadow.

Phil Collins, Lily Collins, Jill Tavelman
(L-R) Phil Collins, Lily Collins and Jill Tavelman pose with Lily's birthday cake at the after-party for the premiere of "Mirror Mirror."Kevin Winter / Getty Images

“I so badly wanted to always fight that, because it wasn’t the place that I was coming from," Collins told Glamour U.K. "And so I am really proud of where I am today because I know how hard I work.”

After she played Sandra Bullock's daughter in 2009's "The Blind Side" and Taylor Lautner's love interest in 2011's "Abduction," moviegoers started to pay more attention to Collins and take her seriously as an actor.

However, she said it was a very different story when she started her career as a little kid.

“When I was younger, trying to start my journey into the entertainment world, I was told by quite a few people, ‘Well, what makes you special? There’s so many different siblings and family members and people out there. Why you?’” she remembered.

That type of judgment made actors like Elizabeth Olsen question whether or not they wanted to change their surname. But for Collins, she decided to keep her name as it paid homage to her family.

“I’m so incredibly proud of what my surname represents, for what my dad’s done. And I’m an incredibly proud daughter," she said. "But I am going on my own path, my own journey. I didn’t want to change my last name."

Phil Collins And Lily Collins
Phil Collins holds his daughter, Lily Collins, while on tour in Japan in 1988.Dave Hogan / Getty Images

Collins has achieved so much success in her career and she's become a household name overnight after she took on the role of Emily Cooper in Netflix's hit show "Emily in Paris."

Although the show is widely talked about, Collins couldn't deny that her character can sometimes be "annoying" when she's always looking on the bright side of things.

“To have someone be optimistic, bright, and bubbly — it’s sad to think that people would look and go, ‘That’s a lot,'" Collins told Nylon in October about the backlash. "They’re such beautiful qualities, and the fact that she can partner that with being vulnerable and asking for help and making mistakes — she’s not infallible."