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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Lily Collins’s five tattoos, as reported in a 2017 interview, include a few pieces she has explained herself: lettering on her back that she says is in her own handwriting, a rose on her right foot tied to a poem and her role in Love, Rosie, and a lily-pad design that followed a trip to South Korea. Collins has not publicly explained every design, and the count of five is a figure from 2017 rather than a confirmed current total.
How many tattoos Collins has, and what the count covers
The number five comes from a 2017 interview with the Italian magazine D la Repubblica. It is the count reported in that conversation, not a verified total for 2026. A 2013 interview is the earliest reporting on her ink in these sources: in it she said she had always wanted tattoos, that she got two in November 2012, and that her back piece was the first of them. Two tattoos in 2012 does not establish how many she has today, and no later source in this review confirms a current inventory.
The five designs at a glance
Only some of the five designs have a description that can be traced to Collins herself. The table separates what is described from what she has said about it, so a reader can see where each claim comes from.
| Design | Location (as reported) | Source of the description | Meaning Collins has stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lettering: “Love always and forever” | Upper back | Collins, 2013 interview; E! reported the same description | Her own handwriting; she has said each tattoo marks a period of her life |
| Rose with lettering | Right foot (lettering location not stated in the reporting) | Collins, 2017 interview (rose); secondary inventory (lettering) | Tied to an Alice Walker poem she read while filming in Ireland, and to Love, Rosie |
| Lily-pad design | Upper back (per secondary inventory) | Teen Vogue, July 2016, quoting Collins’s Instagram caption | A keepsake from a South Korea trip; the caption says “Self love is the most important kind.” |
| Crown with wings | Wrist (per secondary inventory) | Secondary inventory only | Not stated |
| Fairy with lettering | Side (per secondary inventory) | Secondary inventory only | Not stated |
What each explained tattoo says
The back lettering: “Love always and forever”
In the 2013 interview, Collins said the back piece is her handwriting and that it reads “Love always and forever.” E! reported the same description separately. The phrase is the only one of the five with a direct, on-record quote in the reporting reviewed here. Collins did not, in that interview, say what the words meant to her personally beyond the wording itself, so a reader should not assume a specific romantic or family meaning beyond what she said.
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The rose on the foot
In the 2017 interview, Collins said the rose is on her right foot. She explained that she was filming Love, Rosie in Ireland when she read a poem by Alice Walker, which the interview titles “The Nature of This Flower Is to Bloom.” Collins noted that her name is that of a flower, but said the rose would remind her of the film. She described the image as beautiful and said it reminded her that blooming was also “our task.” This is the most complete first-person explanation of any single design in the reporting.
The lily-pad design
Teen Vogue reported in July 2016 that Collins revealed a new tattoo after a trip to South Korea. It quoted her Instagram caption: “A beautiful keepsake from an incredibly memorable Korean adventure,” followed by “Self love is the most important kind.” The caption supports the Korea and self-love associations. Teen Vogue also linked the lily to her name; that is the magazine’s observation, not a separately confirmed statement from Collins, so it should be read that way.
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The crown with wings and the fairy
The crown-and-wings design on the wrist and the fairy with lettering on the side appear only in a secondary inventory. No first-person explanation of either design was found in the reporting reviewed here. The visible design and placement can be described with that attribution, but any meaning would be guesswork drawn from the image itself, and this guide does not offer one.
How to weigh a claim about her tattoos
Readers searching for what a celebrity’s tattoo “means” often find a single confident answer. For Collins, it helps to sort claims into three levels:
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- Her own words, on record and dated: the handwriting and “Love always and forever” description (2013), the rose explanation (2017), and the 2016 Instagram caption.
- Reporter interpretation of a quoted source: the Teen Vogue link between the lily design and her name.
- Unattributed inventory: the wrist and side designs, which carry no stated meaning.
What Collins has said about tattoos generally
In the 2017 interview, Collins said each of her tattoos reminds her of a period of her life and that it feels like carrying a piece of home. In Italian, as quoted in that interview: “Ogni tatuaggio mi ricorda un periodo della mia vita, è come portare con me un pezzo di casa.” Translated, it reads: “Every tattoo reminds me of a period of my life; it’s like carrying a piece of home with me.” This is a general statement about her tattoos, not an explanation of any single design, and it is the closest she comes to a unifying meaning across the set.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What remains unknown
- Whether five is still her total. The count dates from 2017.
- What the crown-and-wings and fairy designs mean to her.
- Whether she has explained any design in an interview published after 2017 in the reporting reviewed here.
Anyone who wants a current answer should check recent interviews or her own social media posts, which is where her most recent statements about body art are most likely to appear.
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