Who is Charlie McDowell? Everything to know about Lily Collins's husband

Lily Collins’s performance as Emily Cooper in the Netflix series Emily in Paris has made her a household name over the years. With 5 episodes of season 4 of the series being released on August 15, 2024, she is once again the center of attention.

Though Lily Collins is seen exploring the dating opportunities in Paris in the hit Netflix show, she is happily married in real life. Her husband is Charlie McDowell, a reputed writer and filmmaker in his own right.

McDowell’s major directing projects include The One I Love (2014), Silicon Valley (2016); and The Discovery (2017), among others. He directed his wife Lily Collins in the 2022 Netflix movie Windfall. Read on to find out more about Charlie McDowell.

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Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell met in 2019

The couple met on the set of the film Gilded Rage in 2019. The film was directed by McDowell and Collins starred in it. About this first meeting, she said on Live with Kelly and Ryan:

"It was one of those situations where I knew the second I met him that I wanted to be his wife one day. So, it was just a matter of when, really."

Things picked up between the two and they made their relationship publicly known on Instagram on August 20, 2019. Collins later revealed on Live with Kelly and Ryan that McDowell would visit her on the set of Emily in Paris.

On January 13, 2020, the two artists were seen together in public for the first time as they visited the Staples Center for a basketball game. On September 25, 2020, Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell got engaged, and on September 4, 2021, they got married. Their marriage took place in Dunton, Colorado.

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Charlie McDowell is a writer and filmmaker

McDowell is a writer and director who has projects like The One I Love (2014) starring Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass, and Ted Danson; Silicon Valley (2016); and The Discovery (2017) to his credit. He has also directed two episodes of On Becoming a God in Central Florida (2019), Dear White People (2017-2018), among others.

McDowell also directed a comedy short, Bye Bye Benjamin, in 2006, when he was 22. He and Collins have worked together in two films: Windfall and Gilded Rage. About her experience of working with her husband in Windfall, Lily Collins told The Hollywood Reporter the following on March 18, 2022:

“It’s really funny because I kept forgetting that we were together because he treats everyone equally and he’s such an actor’s director. The way in which he communicates was so easy that it felt as easy as it normally is.”

On November 17, 2022, the couple, along with Alex Orlovsky, announced that they had created a production company called Case Study Films. Lily told Variety on November 16, 2022, that Case Study Films would be about “collaboration and storytelling.”

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Charlie McDowell has had an interesting personal life

Like his wife Lily Collins, McDowell comes from an illustrious entertainment family. His mother is Mary Steenburgen, an iconic actress famous for her roles in The Proposal, Back To The Future Part III, Step Brothers, Elf, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, among others. His father is Malcolm McDowell, the legendary lead actor of A Clockwork Orange.

Before meeting Lily Collins, McDowell dated several famous artists. According to a report published by ELLE on August 8, 2024, he has dated such celebrities as the Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth, actress Rooney Mara, and the Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke.

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Emily in Paris season 4 part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.