Meet '80s Music Legend Phil Collins' 5 Talented Kids

Phil Collins remains one of the most successful artists in music history despite his official retirement in 2022, and for some extremely good reasons. As the drummer and eventual lead singer of the English rock band Genesis, Collins helped the group sell millions of records and obtain dozens of awards, including one Grammy in 1988. As a solo artist, Collins has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. And of course, he's also the iconic writer and voice behind songs like "You'll Be in My Heart" and "Strangers Like Me" from Disney's "Tarzan" soundtrack. 

Although Collins has been open about his declining health, many might not realize the extent of his relationship history: Collins has been married and divorced three times, although only one of them lasted more than 10 years. Some of Collins' most famous songs, such as "In the Air Tonight," were penned after these failed relationships. From these marriages, Collins is a father of five — and while Lily Collins may be the one people recognize first, he's got four more daughters and sons who are just as talented. 

The eldest of Phil Collins' children, Joely, was born on August 8, 1972. Her mother, former actor Andrea Bertorelli, married Collins in 1975 after they reconnected as adults; they first met when they were 11 years old in a drama class. Collins adopted Joely after he and Bertorelli tied the knot; it's unknown who her biological father is. 

Joely, who has Canadian citizenship through her mother, spent her early childhood in England with Collins and Bertorelli. She returned to Canada as a teenager with Bertorelli and has lived there ever since, although she has kept a close bond with Collins. In 2020, Joely wished Collins a Happy Father's Day on Instagram with a sweet throwback photo of the pair. "Happy [Father's] Day Dad. I love you with all my [heart]," she captioned. 

Joely Collins was bitten by the acting bug as a teenager, something she began to take seriously after her return to Canada; Collins studied at the Vancouver Youth Theater and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. At 22, Collins received an award for Canada's best leading actress after a stint on the TV show "Madison." According to her IMDb, Collins has also appeared in works like "The Final Cut" (2004) and "Coded" (2015). 

Like many others in the entertainment industry, Collins also has several producer credits under her belt; she founded Million Faces Productions in 2012 and has produced titles like "Almost Heaven" (2006) and "Becoming Redwood" (2012). "Becoming Redwood" went on to win two awards at the Vancouver International Film Festival: best Canadian feature and most popular Canadian film. 

Although she's been recognized as an actor and producer, Collins has also dabbled in writing and directing. In 1999, Collins wrote and co-directed "Summer Love: The Documentary," which follows a rave party in British Columbia. The documentary featured Collins' brother Simon.

While none of Phil Collins' marriages ultimately worked out, Joely Collins has enjoyed a stable relationship, as far as we know, for almost 20 years. On August 23, 2008, she married Stefan Buitelaar, a Dutch driver and educator; according to Buitelaar's Instagram, he owns Young Drivers Academy, a driving school in the Netherlands.

Joely and Buitelaar welcomed their only child, Zoë Amelie, on October 26, 2009. When it comes to their daughter, the only thing we know for certain is that Joely loves being a mother. In 2013, Joely told Urban Moms, "I love being a mum! I think it is the most rewarding job you can have." She also mentioned, "My daughter loves to bake and have tea parties."

Phil Collins and Andrea Bertorelli's second child, Simon Collins, was born on September 14, 1976. At the time, Collins was on a global tour with Genesis, while Bertorelli and Joely Collins remained behind in England. In 2017, Bertorelli reflected to Woman and Home, "I was anxious at the prospect of coping on my own for all that time with two small children, but within a day or two of our son Simon being born, he'd gone."

Simon was 4 years old when Collins and Bertorelli divorced in 1980. The life event, as previously mentioned, led to their eventual move from England to Canada. Collins remained busy throughout Simon's life as he continued to work and tour, although Collins looks back on his childhood fondly. "I grew up on tour around Genesis and around those amazing musicians, and it had a deep impact on my life. My dad's always been supportive," he told Misplaced Straws in 2020. 

Simon was exposed to music at a young age, and although he didn't see Collins consistently, his father remained a heavy influence. Simon picked up his first set of drumsticks when he was 5 and wrote his first song at 14. In 1990, at age 13, Simon made his stage debut during one of Collins' concerts and played "Easy Lover" on the drums.

Unsurprisingly, Simon Collins grew up to be a successful musician in his own right; Collins is primarily a drummer and singer-songwriter, although he can also play guitar and piano. To date, Collins has released four solo albums: "All of Who You Are" (1999), "Time for Truth" (2005), "U-Catastrophe" (2008), and "Becoming Human" (2020). He co-founded Sound of Contact, a rock band, in 2009. 

Collins, who is among the many nepo babies who have been open about their struggles, has highlighted his experiences with substance abuse during his career; Collins was arrested on alleged drug charges in 2014 and 2020. In one statement from April 2021, Collins admitted (via The Irish Examiner), "I regret my relapse [in 2020] as I have been in recovery for years. It's all behind me now and I don't use drugs anymore." 

As a songwriter, much of Collins' music has been inspired by the ups and downs of his personal life. Besides his experience with addiction, Collins has also channeled the pain of his own failed relationship into his music. Collins has been married once; details are scarce, but he told Louder Than War in 2020, "I was married in 2010, and we had a lifelong history and romance ... [there] are elements from my side that contributed to things falling apart, but she played her own part as well."

Phil Collins' five children are spread out across the globe — a natural development, fair to say, because all three of his ex-wives are of different nationalities. As of 2026, Simon Collins and Andrea Bertorelli live in County Kerry, Ireland. Collins explained the relocation to Hot Press: "My mom was ill ... She needed to live in a more rural setting, and to get away from the rat race. The move was really about supporting my mom through some hard times."

While music is Collins' No. 1 passion, he's also shown immense interest in astronomy, specifically cosmology, the study of the universe's origins. These ideas heavily inspired Sound of Contact's 2013 album "Dimensionaut." "I have always had a huge interest in astronomy," Simon Collins Music states. "['Dimensionaut'] is an exploration into the journey of a human without a name or any connections to other humans."

Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman, an American businesswoman, met at Hollywood's Rainbow Bar in 1980. At the time, Tavelman was an ordinary non-famous person in town for a Genesis concert — Collins was in his prime and freshly divorced. Collins and Tavelman tied the knot in 1984 and welcomed their only child together, Lily Collins, on March 18, 1989. 

Like her older siblings, Lily grew up in England until her parents' divorce. Collins and Tavelman separated in 1994 and finalized their divorce in 1996; Tavelman alleged that Collins had an affair and that he only communicated over fax. Tavelman and Lily subsequently relocated to Los Angeles, where Lily spent the rest of her childhood. 

Out of the five Collins children, Lily has publicly acknowledged a complicated relationship with her famous father the most. In her 2017 book "Unfiltered," Lily described that her father was frequently absent as a child, which caused feelings of anger and resentment. "I was angry. I missed him and wanted him there," Lily wrote in part (via People). She conceded, "I forgive you for not always being there when I needed you and for not being the dad I expected."

The stunning transformation of Lily Collins has been a public one since childhood — and not just because of her father's status but because of her early start as an actor. Collins wasn't a full-fledged child actor, but she did appear in her first movies and TV shows at an extremely young age. Collins made her acting debut in 1992, at age 2, on an episode of "Growing Pains."

In 2007, Collins attended the Le Bal des Débutantes (also known as the Crillon Ball), an extravagant annual social event in Paris. Collins' career started to properly take off after that appearance; she gained additional fame in movies like "The Blind Side" (2009) and "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" (2013). Today, Collins may be best known for appearing in more recent projects like "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" (2019) and the Netflix series "Emily in Paris" (2020-).

Although Phil Collins' status arguably helped Collins get her foot through the door, she doesn't seem to consider herself a typical nepo baby. "It was out of the question that people would think that I use a free pass thanks to my name," she told Vogue France in 2022 (via People). "I'm proud of my dad, but I wanted to be me, not just his daughter. For that, I was ready to wait to break through."

While plenty of celebrities have married regular people with no ties to the industry (Phil Collins, as we've just covered, is only one fish in a vast sea of examples), Lily Collins fell in love with another pretty prominent nepo baby: screenwriter/director Charlie McDowell. The pair met in 2019 during the early stages of "Gilded Rage," a movie McDowell was set to direct — despite a press release from Deadline, the film was actually never made, most likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Although "Gilded Rage" ultimately didn't pan out, Collins and McDowell's relationship quickly flourished. The couple hard-launched their relationship in August 2019 and got engaged in September 2020. They tied the knot in September 2021 and welcomed their daughter, Tove, in 2025. "Joy is being your mom," Collins wrote on Instagram for Mother's Day 2026. 

If McDowell's name rings a bell, it might be because of his immediate family and their own success. When Collins married McDowell, she gained some prolific in-laws: McDowell's parents are actors Mary Steenburgen and Malcolm McDowell. Steenburgen has been married to another famous actor, Ted Danson, since 1995. 

Nicholas "Nic" Collins was born to Phil Collins and his third wife, Swiss jewelry designer Orianne Cevey, on April 21, 2001. Nic's parents met in 1994: Collins was on another international tour with Genesis, for which Cevey served as an interpreter. When they married in 1999, Collins was 48, while Cevey was 27 — perhaps not one of the most alarming age-gap relationships in Hollywood history, but still a significant one.

Nic spent his childhood in Switzerland until he was about 9, when he immigrated to the United States with Cevey and his younger brother, Mathew. Collins and Cevey filed for divorce in 2006; when it was finalized in 2008, Collins was ordered to pay one of the most expensive divorce settlements at the time, £25 million (approximately $33,457,259 USD in 2026). 

Although Collins was sometimes out of the physical picture due to his career, he did attempt to slow down by 2014. Nic has always spoken extremely highly of his father, both personally and professionally. In 2026, Collins was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist (he was originally inducted with Genesis in 2010). "So proud of you dad. Incredibly deserved and long overdue. You're my hero!" Nic wrote on Instagram in response. 

Phil and Simon Collins aren't the only family members with some serious musical talent. Like his father and older brother, Nic Collins has evolved into a well-respected drummer with tons of experience under his belt. Nic's first professional gig was on his father's "Not Dead Yet" concert tour, which ran between 2017 and 2019; Nic was just 15 years old when he made his stage debut and started to learn how to drum at just 3. 

Besides his work with Collins and Genesis, Nic has played with several bands over the years. In 2023 and 2025, Nic toured with Mike and The Mechanics, a group formed by Genesis co-founder Mike Rutherford. In 2023, Nic also performed with The Effect, a modern rock band that released its debut album in 2024. As of 2026, Nic primarily performs with Better Strangers, a Miami-based alternative/progressive band.

While Nic Collins has no problem putting himself out there musically, his personal life is an entirely different story. Collins' social media profiles are almost exclusively dedicated to his career, although with one blatant exception (other than his appreciation for Phil Collins): his love life.

Collins has been in a relationship with his high school sweetheart, Isabella Serralles, since November 2016. While there are no particular details about the couple, such as how exactly they met or if they've thought of marriage, Collins routinely marks Serralles' birthdays and their anniversaries online. In November 2025, Collins wrote on Instagram, "9 years with you by my side. I love sharing my life with you. I love you more than words can say and fall harder for you each day."

Mathew Collins, Phil Collins and Orianne Cevey's second child, was born on December 1, 2004. Mathew, who was roughly 6 years old when he moved to Miami Beach, Florida, with his mother and brother, spent most of his childhood in the United States. 

In 2016, Collins and Cevey confirmed that they had rekindled their relationship. At the time, Mathew was 11 years old, while Nic was 14. Collins told People, "The kids are over the moon. [Mathew] was saying it was his wish for his birthday." Their parents split again in 2020 after Cevey married another man, something Entertainment Tonight confirmed that October. 

Like Nic, Mathew seems to share a positive relationship with his father, something that he's heavily hinted at on social media. In April 2026, Mathew posted a photo of them smiling on Instagram with the caption, "The best of surprises."

Phil, Joely, Simon, Lily, and Nic Collins have all managed to make a mark on the entertainment industry in some way. Mathew Collins, on the other hand, has set his sights on another famous and equally difficult career: football, or to Americans, soccer. According to a translated report by MD, Collins initially enrolled in a French soccer academy at 14 years old. Two years later, he moved to Germany to play for the teams Astoria Walldorf and Hannover 96. 

As of 2026, Collins is a midfielder — a player whose position is between offensive and defensive attacks on the field — for Austria Salzburg, a professional team in the Second League, also called Admiral 2. Liga. Collins was signed in June 2025 after a stint with WSG Tirol, another Austrian team. "He is completely uncomplicated and down-to-earth and therefore fits in perfectly with Austria on a personal level," Austria Salzburg's president, Claus Salzmann, told Blue News.  

According to Transfer Markt, Collins has played in a handful of Austria Salzburg games, but has sat out on the bench more often than not. In September 2025, Collins played for approximately eight minutes before he was benched for a disciplinary yellow card. To date, Collins' longest time in a game stands at 14 minutes, which was played in May 2026. 

Besides Mathew Collins' parentage and his publicly documented sports career, the only other available information out there about him is through bits and pieces of social media activity. Based on his Instagram, for instance, Collins has the luxury of a personal trainer whom he has worked with for several years. In June 2022, Collins uploaded an Instagram video that showcased some of his preseason physical stamina. 

While his siblings have granted plenty of interviews over the years, Collins has only agreed to one — or perhaps has only been asked to do one — as of June 2026. Collins spoke to Manuel Eßletzbichler with Austria's Krone TV in July 2025; the duo mostly talked about Collins' journey from ordinary teenager to budding professional soccer player, although Collins' famous father was briefly brought up at times. In German (translated to English, via YouTube), Collins stated that Phil Collins "always supported" him and "always [asks] how [games] were."