9 Lily Collins Pics That Prove She's The Perfect Choice To Play Audrey Hepburn On Screen

On February 23, 2026, Lily Collins jumped on Instagram and announced that she would be playing Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn in a movie about the making of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Delivering the exciting news, she wrote, "It's with almost 10 years of development and a lifetime of admiration and adoration for Audrey that I'm finally able to share this. Honored and ecstatic don't begin to express how I feel..." Needless to say, fans were excited by the announcement. 

Hepburn played the enigmatic character Holly Golightly in the 1961 film, based on the 1958 novella by Truman Capote. The beloved film made Hepburn an international star and solidified her as a style icon; Hepburn made the black sheath dress an essential piece of every woman's wardrobe. Pearls and sunglasses became synonymous with style, and wearing an oversized button-down shirt as pyjamas was another distinctive touch made timeless by Hepburn. The film was as much about fashion as it was a love story, and so this new production, with Collins at the helm, is met with much anticipation.

In the past, there were rumors that another star might play the part. Access Hollywood spoke to Ariana Grande in January 2025 about playing Hepburn in a biopic. She responded, "Why is everyone asking me this?" admitting that she has always loved Hepburn's classic, old Hollywood style. While it's true that Grande possesses some of Hepburn's charm, Collins was clearly the perfect choice for this role. 

One of Audrey Hepburn's most striking features was her eyebrows. They were bold and thick, and strikingly framed her face. She embraced this feature and, according to Vogue, tending to her brows and amplifying them was a crucial part of her makeup routine. Hepburn used a dark brown eyebrow pencil to enhance them, making it clear that she wasn't trying to play down this distinctive trait. For Lily Collins, the same thing goes. She told Glamour UK that her brows were a big part of her grooming routine. "I really think less is more and I like to mess [my brows] up," Collins shared. "But to be honest, I do maintenance every night." Both women have sparked a trend, proving that embracing one's natural brows with a no-nonsense routine is refreshingly easy. 

Audrey Hepburn's short hair was something of a revelation for its time. She was a contemporary of many other Hollywood stars, when long, glamorous hair was the norm, and her ability to wear short hair and make it feminine was novel for the time. Hepburn's pixie cut was so cute that it arguably deserves a spot among the celeb pixie cuts to inspire your next super short cut. Lily Collins also possesses that gamine charm, and in June 2024, she further proved her similarity to Hepburn by cutting her hair into a blunt bob.

Lily Collins has long admitted to looking at Audrey Hepburn for style inspiration. "[Hepburn's] timeless features, elegance, and charm will always represent the epitome of grace," Collins said of the Hollywood icon to Marie Claire in 2014. "She was not only an incredible actress but her charity work with UNICEF was so inspiring and admirable." It's obvious Lily Collins' fashion choices directly channel Hepburn's distinct, effortless charm, even with more casual pieces, like a striped sweater. 

Lily Collins counts herself among the many celebrities who have taken fashion cues from Audrey Hepburn. While touches like feminine fruit dresses make for obvious nods, Collins genuinely looks so much like Hepburn that people on the internet asked if Collins was related to the Hollywood icon. As it turns out, the two women are not related. They just both happen to have been blessed with deep, almond-shaped brown eyes, statement brows, and an undeniably distinct star quality that radiates from within.

Audrey Hepburn is a fool-proof choice as a style icon. The star had a close, working relationship with Givenchy, and favored simplicity as well as a less-is-more approach to styling. Indeed, Hepburn's style has remained iconic years after her death, because she could seamlessly blend feminine appeal with slacks and a sweater just as easily as she could with a gown. Lily Collins never does wrong on a red carpet when she channels her style icon. At the 2023 Met Gala, Collins opted for a black and white gown by Vera Wang that was Hepburn to a T. 

Audrey Hepburn made something magnificent out of something so simple in her timeless outfit from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." She wore a long, black cocktail dress designed by Givenchy and paired it with opera gloves, a sensational pearl necklace, a tiara headpiece, and huge sunglasses. The casual element of the sunglasses gave the look modern wearability that has generated all kinds of dupes and inspirations over the years. This was clearly the case at the Season 4 premiere of "Emily in Paris" in Los Angeles in 2024. Collins clearly looked to Hepburn for her red carpet inspiration by wearing a long black Armani Privé column dress.

When Lily Collins married Charlie McDowell in September 2021, her father-in-law, Malcolm McDowell, told People in 2024 that he saw instant similarities in Collins and Audrey Hepburn. "Lily is absolutely a star. I'm in awe of her work. I think she's one of the best young actresses around," Malcolm shared. "I love watching her — she's got that Audrey Hepburn kind of thing going, which is indefinable in a way, but it's there." This charm is evident to everyone, and even with something as playful as a sunhat, the two women manage to pull off outrageous shapes in a stylish way. 

Even in casual moments, Audrey Hepburn's style is worth studying. There's an iconic photo of her drinking tea at the Restaurant Hammetschwand in Lucerne, Switzerland, from 1955, where Hepburn is wearing a simple cardigan with a black turtleneck underneath. The chic minimalism is something that Lily Collins has likewise embodied, which was evident when Collins wore a simple, beige blazer and a black layer underneath with a black scarf and large, gold hoops. Both women bring charm and sophistication to relaxed looks. 

Lily Collins has never tried to hide her admiration for, or her similarities to, Audrey Hepburn. It's clearly something that Collins has heard for a long time. There was an obvious nod to Hepburn's 1953 film "Roman Holiday" in Season 4 of "Emily in Paris," when Collins' character, Emily Cooper, leaves Paris for Rome. The TV show played up Collins' similarities to Hepburn by having fun with her character's outfits and style while in Italy. Collins even posted a "Roman Holiday" postcard on Instagram while in Rome, proving that she was in on the homage to Hepburn.