---
name: "Lily Cole"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lily-cole"
fi1m_id: "lily-cole"
imdb_id: "nm2178959"
tmdb_id: 53688
wikidata_id: "Q235455"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 December 1987"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 58
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-01T22:05:58.314551+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Lily Cole

## Identity

Lily Cole

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lily-cole
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** lily-cole
- **IMDb ID:** nm2178959
- **TMDB ID:** 53688
- **Wikidata ID:** Q235455
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Cole, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q235455, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2178959/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/53688

Actor. Born 27 December 1987 in Torquay, Devon, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 December 1987, Torquay, Devon, England, UK
- **Active:** 2009–2012
- **Also known as:** Lily Luahana Cole, لیلی کول
- **Average Fi1m score:** 58, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 65 (1), 2010s 52 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Cole, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q235455, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2178959/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/53688

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus*](https://film.one/film/the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus.md) (65)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Lily Cole

> Lily Cole is often cast to look otherworldly; we are more interested when she makes a character feel ordinary. Her directness in *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* gives a crowded fantasy some welcome human feeling.

Cole gives Valentina a useful plainness in Terry Gilliam's *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* (2009). While the storytelling keeps getting distracted, she gives us someone whose feelings seem worth attending to. We warmed to Valentina because Cole lets her feelings register plainly amid all the competing inventions. It is a modest strength, but an important one in a fantasy so often absorbed in its own cleverness. She helps make the film worth staying with, though she cannot make its muddle disappear.

That performance followed Polly in *St Trinian's* (2007), and Valentina was her first leading film role. The step from ensemble comedy to Gilliam's fantasy was substantial, but the tenderness of her performance matters more than the size of the part. Alongside Heath Ledger's Tony and Andrew Garfield's Anton, she is asked to supply emotional weight that the writing has not adequately provided. Gilliam gets something useful from her without giving the cast consistently compelling scenes. Our reservation is with the script rather than with Cole's willingness to make it work.

The later parts have more often been supporting ones, with fantasy and gothic stories making repeated use of her pale, red-haired, otherworldly appearance. Mary Harron cast her as Ernessa Bloch in *The Moth Diaries* (2011); she played Greta in *Snow White and the Huntsman* (2012). Those choices make sense, though they risk making her appearance the whole reason for her presence. The title role in the television miniseries *Elizabeth I* (2017) took her into historical drama.

We would be cautious about making larger claims for her on the evidence of Valentina alone. What we value there is the way she keeps the character approachable while Gilliam makes the story busy. That is a useful quality for an actor whose looks so readily encourage otherworldly casting. More substantial parts would give us a better measure of what she can do. Start with *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus*, allowing for a film that leaves its actors too much to repair.

## Biography

Lily Cole is an English actress and model. Born in Torquay, Devon, in 1987, she began modelling as a teenager and appeared on the cover of British Vogue at the age of 16. She was named Model of the Year at the 2004 British Fashion Awards and worked with brands including Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

Cole made her film debut in *St Trinian's* (2007) and took her first leading role as Valentina in Terry Gilliam's *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* (2009). Her other screen credits include *Snow White and the Huntsman* (2012), *The Moth Diaries* (2011), *The Zero Theorem* (2013), *Star Wars: The Last Jedi* (2017) and *London Fields* (2018). She has also appeared in *Doctor Who* (2005) and *Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie* (2016).

She studied history of art at the University of Cambridge, graduating with a first-class degree in 2011. In 2013 she founded the website impossible.com.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Snow White and the Huntsman* (2012), Fi1m 52, as Greta — [page](https://film.one/film/snow-white-and-the-huntsman.md)
- *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* (2009), Fi1m 65, as Valentina — [page](https://film.one/film/the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus.md)

## Complete filmography (23)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *How to Live* (2025), Actor
- *Night Burns Like Cigarettes* (2022), as Narrator
- *Hilma* (2022), as Mathilda
- *London Fields* (2018), as Trish Shirt
- *Balls* (2018), Director, Writer
- *Star Wars: The Last Jedi* (2017), as Party Girl Lovey — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/star-wars-the-last-jedi.md)
- *Elizabeth I* (2017), series, as Elizabeth I
- *Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie* (2016), as Lily Cole
- *Gravy* (2015), as Mimi
- *Orion* (2015), as The Virgin
- *The Messenger* (2015), as Emma
- *The Zero Theorem* (2013), as Woman in Street Commercial
- *Confession of a Child of the Century* (2012), as Elise
- *Snow White and the Huntsman* (2012), as Greta — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/film/snow-white-and-the-huntsman.md)
- *The Moth Diaries* (2011), as Ernessa Bloch
- *There Be Dragons* (2011), as Aline
- *Pirelli Calendar 2010 (South Florida PBS)* (2009), as Lily
- *The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus* (2009), as Valentina — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus.md)
- *Rage* (2009), as Lettuce Leaf
- *Passage* (2009), as Tania
- *T Takes: Brooklyn '09* (2009), series, as Lily
- *St Trinian's* (2007), as Polly
- *Doctor Who* (2005), series, as Sea Siren — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md)

## Gallery

- ![Lily Cole at the Vanity Fair party for the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-bc5a32cecd0d.jpg) Lily Cole at the Vanity Fair party for the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Lily_Cole_2012_Shankbone.JPG/1280px-Lily_Cole_2012_Shankbone.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Photos by @Kmeron for LeWeb13 Conference @ Central Hall Westminster - London (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-15f22d00edd2.jpg) Photos by @Kmeron for LeWeb13 Conference @ Central Hall Westminster - London (2013) — Kmeron for LeWeb, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Lily_Cole%2C_London%2C_6_June_2013_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Lily_Cole%2C_London%2C_6_June_2013_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lily Cole at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, for the screening of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-4d98aee2a07d.jpg) Lily Cole at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, for the screening of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. — Michael Vlasaty, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Lily_Cole_-_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_2009.jpg/1280px-Lily_Cole_-_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_2009.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lily Cole pictured in 2006 in London's Trafalgar Square by Charlotte Gilhooly (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-791eb1045017.jpg) Lily Cole pictured in 2006 in London's Trafalgar Square by Charlotte Gilhooly (2010) — Lily_Cole_2006.jpg: *Charlotte Gilhooly
derivative work: HJ Mitchell (talk), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Lily_Cole_2006_cropped.jpg/1280px-Lily_Cole_2006_cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lily Cole](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-b1ae612e39a5.jpg) Lily Cole — Image via TMDB
- ![Lily Cole](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-9358e1105664.jpg) Lily Cole — Image via TMDB
- ![Lily Cole](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-019f5004db8f.jpg) Lily Cole — Image via TMDB
- ![Lily Cole at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, for the screening of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-08fca17a42f6.jpg) Lily Cole at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, for the screening of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. — Michael Vlasaty, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Lily_Cole_-_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_2009_-_2.jpg/1280px-Lily_Cole_-_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_2009_-_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lily Cole at Climate Change Rally in Trafalgar Square, London. (2006)](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-b01fbf249ae9.jpg) Lily Cole at Climate Change Rally in Trafalgar Square, London. (2006) — Charlotte Gilhooly from London, England, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Lily_Cole_%40_Climate_Change_Rally.jpg/1280px-Lily_Cole_%40_Climate_Change_Rally.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lily Cole](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-cb712de6bf25.jpg) Lily Cole — Image via TMDB
- ![Lily Cole](https://film.one/media/person/4159795/gallery-7e718f885d87.jpg) Lily Cole — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lily-cole