Vogue Daily
Netflix is launching a new series of Emily in Paris. On that occasion, our Paris correspondent sat down for an exclusive interview for Vogue CS with British actress Lily Collins and American actress and musician Ashley Park, who play the best friends in the series. How are they really doing? And what do you think about female friendship?
Foto: Stephanie Branchu/Netflix
Lily Collins as Emily Cooper and Ashley Park as Mindy in Season 4 of Emily in Paris
Interview with Lily Collins and Ashley Park, stars of the next Netflix series Emily in Paris
The first part of the fourth series of Emily in Paris comes out already on the fifteenth of August, so I put on a T-shirt with embroidered croissants on my nipples and ran (at least through the computer) to the actresses Lily and Ashley, i.e. to the series’ Emily and Mindy, to talk about the new series. So that was my intention. But as I began to read about them, study them, listen to their opinions, and watch the rare, strong friendship they formed between them, I realized that I didn’t want to know Emily and Mindy, but Lily Collins and Ashley Park. And when will I get another chance to sit across from them and ask them whatever I want for fifteen whole minutes? So I risked it and it turned out like this. So read on, you’ll see.
Lily! Ashley! Bonjour! I’ve been Ema in Paris for thirteen years, and although I’m not there right now, I wore a themed t-shirt with croissants on my nipples for our interview, look!
A: Ahahaha, that’s so funny!
L: Oh my god, I need one too!
Emily and Mindy are best friends. You two are best friends too. I’ve seen a lot of your conversations together over the last few days, and the love you have for each other and the support you give each other is literally oozing from you. Why are female friendships so necessary and precious?
L: We women are constantly changing, evolving and going through different life stages. There are friendships that are formed in childhood and we stick with them throughout our lives, even if our paths gradually diverge. And then there are the friendships that form throughout life when you suddenly meet a person who is in the exact same place and stage of life as you. And that’s exactly what happened to Ashley and I when we met on the set of Emily in Paris.
A: Every woman needs a woman close to her who accepts her as she is right now. She doesn’t care about who she was before, she doesn’t judge her for past mistakes, she doesn’t have any prejudices against her. Every woman needs a woman by her side who won’t let past mistakes hold her back. Who won’t allow her not to believe in herself. And who motivates her to become the woman she wants to be, because she has what it takes.
Foto: Stephanie Branchu/Netflix©2024
Ashley Park as Mindy and Lily Collins as Emily in Emily in Paris Season 4
Why do we have a tendency to see other women as our competition, to be jealous of ourselves and to compare ourselves to each other?
A: Just now a sentence that I once heard somewhere jumped out at me: “If you look to the side, you will not move forward.” But I will tell you this: One thing is who I am. How I see myself, how I perceive myself. How I realize where I have my own path, my own identity, how I value myself. And the second thing is who I surround myself with. In healthy friendships between women that are built on the right values, like Lily and I have, there is no place for competition, jealousy or comparison. On the contrary, it is precisely such women who give me self-confidence and the strength to believe in myself.
L: When I was jealous of other women in the past, it was always because I wasn’t happy with myself. So every time I feel jealous, I look inside myself and try to understand why it’s there. Why do I feel her? And yes, being surrounded by the right women is key to feeling good about ourselves. And the better we feel about ourselves, the less we want to be like someone else.
When was the last time you complimented another woman?
L: I try to give compliments all the time, and not just to women! Even early yesterday morning, I think it was before seven, because I couldn’t sleep because of the time difference, I met a very well-dressed woman on my way to a cafe, and I almost gasped at her, she scared me.
A: I can confirm that! Not a day goes by that I don’t hear someone praising her!
What about you, Ashley?
A: I try to focus more on showing gratitude and humility than giving compliments. And now we often say “sorry”. Did you notice that, Lily?
L: Yes, even if we don’t have anything to apologize for right now!
You compare your relationship to a safe place. What should I do to become a safe place for my friends?
A: So you seem to me to be a safe place for your female friends. Just for information.
L: There you go! That’s your compliment!
A: Oh, see? Lily is a safe place for me because whenever I need her, she is there for me. And I never feel like I’m burdening her with it. When I don’t want to talk about something, but I know it will help me, or when I think what I want to say is unnecessary, but I need to get it out, even then she is there, ready to listen, not judge me and not condemn .
L: Exactly. Sometimes I just talk and talk and she just listens and listens.
A: Above all, I will not allow her to doubt herself!
Can you criticize yourself?
A: I wouldn’t call it criticism. Rather, we are very honest and direct with each other. And if our opinions or views on a matter differ, we want to know why.
Foto: Stephanie Branchu/Netflix
Lily Collins as Emily Cooper and Ashley Park as Mindy in Season 4 of Emily in Paris
Lily, in one interview you had to describe the fourth season of Emily in Paris in one word. You said vulnerability. Both of you have once, independently of each other, described vulnerability as a demonstration of your strength. That vulnerability is not weakness, on the contrary, we can strengthen ourselves with it. What should we do to stop being ashamed of our vulnerability and start showing it?
L: To surround yourself with people who accept you and love you with everything, who do not want to change you under any circumstances, unless you yourself want to. And don’t be afraid to go to them when it’s hard for you. I know we always want to do everything on our own, but why should we when they and they are here?
A: It is not easy to admit that it is difficult for us. Sometimes we don’t even want to admit it to ourselves, let alone to others. This too is a manifestation of vulnerability, but also of strength – to admit to myself and my loved ones how I really feel.
Lily, in your book Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, you wrote, quote, “The weird things about you that make you different make you beautiful.” Even when you were asked about Ashley, you said that is unique, and you used a word that I heard for the first time and I really liked – otherworldly. How should we love our strangeness and allow ourselves to be unique, otherworldly?
L: First of all, and I think I speak for both Ash and I, I can’t remember the last time I had such a deep, human, heartfelt conversation at a press conference: I think I’ll still think about what we said to each other today. But back to your question. You will never be likable to everyone. But there are a lot of us who will love you endlessly just because of your difference. And there is no such thing as you in the world, do you understand?
A: Exactly! And think of it every time you stop believing in yourself!
I still had questions about Paris ready, but after Ashley’s last sentence, we lost the connection. Maybe I’ll still be able to meet Lily and Ashley and ask them in which arrondissement they eat their favorite croissant and where they go to have fun. But until then, I will repeat to myself how important female friendships are, what strength we women can pass on to each other, how even my own vulnerability can make me stronger and how those special things about me make me beautiful. And how those special things about you make you beautiful.
And just a moment! The second part of the fourth series will be released on September 12th! And now I’m going! Oh revoiiiiiiiir!
Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, Bruno Gouery as Luc, Samuel Arnold as Julien and Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu as Sylvie Grateau in Season 4 of Emily in Paris
Foto: Stephanie Branchu/Netflix
