Birthday's to share this week : 12th - 18th March 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Lily Collins does on 18th March - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 28, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 12th March

• Liza Minnelli - Born 1946, turns 71 - Actress | Singer
• Rob Cohen - Born 1949, turns 68 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Songwriter
• Aaron Eckhart - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer  

Monday 13th March

• William H. Macy - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• Common (aka Lonnie Rashid Lynn) - Born 1972, turns 45 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Emile Hirsch - Born 1985, turns 32 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter 

Tuesday 14th March

• Michael Caine - Born 1933, turns 84 - Actor | Producer
• Wolfgang Petersen - Born 1941, turns 76 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Billy Crystal - Born 1948, turns 69 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer
• Corey Stoll - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actor
• Jamie Bell - Born 1986, turns 31 - Actor | Producer
• Ansel Elgort - Born 1994, turns 23 - Actor  

Wednesday 15th March

• David Cronenberg - Born 1943, turns 74 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Editor
• Renny Harlin - Born 1959, turns 58 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Greg Nicotero - Born 1963, turns 54 - Make Up Artist | Special Effects Artist | Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Kellan Lutz - Born 1985, turns 32 - Actor
• Jai Courtney - Born 1986, turns 31 - Actor
• Eva Longoria - Born 1975, turns 42 - Actress | Producer | Director

Thursday 16th March

• Kate Nelligan - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actress
• Isabelle Huppert - Born 1953, turns 64 - Actress
• Victor Garber - Born 1949, turns 68 - Actor
• Jimmy Nail - Born 1954, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer | Songwriter  
• Gore Verbinski - Born 1964, turns 53 - Director | Producer | Writer

Friday 17th March  

• Patrick Duffy - Born 1949, turns 68 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Kurt Russell - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Gary Sinise - Born 1955, turns 62 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Rob Lowe - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor | Producer
• John Boyega - Born 1992, turns 25 - Actor | Producer
• Lesley-Anne Down - Born 1954, turns 63 - Actress | Writer  

Saturday 18th March

• Vanessa Williams - Born 1963, turns 54 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Queen Latifa - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actress | Producer | Singer | Songwriter 
• Lily Collins - Born 1989, turns 28 - Actress
• Brad Dourif - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actor
• Luc Besson - Born 1959, turns 58 - Director | Producer | Writer

Lily Jane Collins was born in Guildford, Surrey, England to mother Jill Tavelman, an American and former President of the Beverly Hills Women's Club, and father Phil Collins the legendary singer, songwriter and drummer with rock band Genesis, and a successful musician in his own right too, post Genesis days. Her parents divorced in 1996 when Lily was just seven years of age, but by that time the young girl had already made her small screen debut on the short-lived television series 'Growing Pains' for the BBC at age two. The young Collins moved with her mother to Los Angeles where she graduated from the independent Harvard-Westlake School for Girls. She then moved on to the University of Southern California from where she majored in Broadcast Journalism.

As a teenager Collins wrote for 'Seventeen' magazine, 'Teen Vogue' and the 'Los Angeles Times'. She also had a successful modelling career having been named 'International Model of the Year' by Spain's 'Glamour' magazine, and in 2008 she was named 'Newest Red Carpet Correspondent' and 'One to Watch' at that years 'Young Hollywood Awards'. 

In 2009 she launched her screen acting career on two episodes of '90210' which was followed up quickly by her role as Collins Tuohy, the daughter to Sandra Bullock's Leigh Anne Tuohy in 'The Blind Side' about All American football player and first round draft pick, Michael Oher. The role garnered Bullock the Best Actress in a Leading Role Academy Award at the 2010 ceremony as well as the Golden Globe and SAG award wins in the same categories. 

This was followed up by action fantasy horror offering 'Priest' with Paul Bettany in the lead role alongside Karl Urban, Christopher Plummer,  Alan Dale and Maggie Q, with Collins playing Lucy Pace the kidnapped niece of our titular vampire slayer Priest. This was followed up in 2011 by 'Abduction' an action thriller starring Taylor Lautner in the lead role with Collins playing his senior high school team mate on a school research project. 

2012 saw her role as Snow White in 'Mirror Mirror' based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, starring alongside Julia Roberts, Sean Bean, Armie Hammer and Nathan Lane. The film grossed US$183M from its US$85M budget outlay and received average reviews. RomCom 'Stuck in Love' came next with Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Kristen Bell, and Logan Lerman. A year later came another RomCom 'The English Teacher' with Greg Kinnear  and Nathan Lane again, and Julianne Moore in the lead role as the high school English Teacher in question.

The Sci-Fi action fantasy adventure 'The Mortal Instruments : City of Bones' was next up in 2013 which received lacklustre Reviews at best and made US$91M at the Box Office from its budget of US60M. Sequels to the story based on 'The Mortal Instruments' series of books by Cassandra Clare were set to go into production with the main cast, including Collins reprising their roles. But, due to disappointing Box Office results, any further instalments were put on the back burner. Another RomCom came along in 2014 'Love, Rosie' with Collins headlining as Rosie alongside Sam Claflin's love interest Alex.

2016 saw Warren Beatty's Directed, Co-Produced, Written and Starring RomCom 'Rules Don't Apply' which received mixed Reviews and a US domestic Box Office take of less than US$4M from its US$25M production budget. The film is yet to see the light of day in Australia, and has already been released on DVD and Blu-ray Stateside. Collins did receive a Golden Globe nomination earlier this year for her role in the film, but that clearly wasn't enough to save this movie despite its ensemble cast too, including Warren Beatty himself, Annette Benning, Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, Steve Coogan, Ed Harris, Martin Sheen, Oliver Platt, Candice Bergen, Paul Sorvino and Alden Ehrenreich.

Next up for Collins is 'To the Bone' which Premiered at January's Sundance Film Festival and stars Keanu Reeves in this tale of of Ellen, played by Collins as she battles anorexia. This will be followed up by 'Okja' from South Korean Director, Producer and Writer Bong Joon-ho and tells the story of a massive shy and introverted animal named Okja, that a young girl is helping to protect and rescue from capture by a powerful multi-national company. The film also stars Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano and Steven Yuen. 'Okja' is due for release mid-year this year. 'Halo of Stars' is in post-production for a release later this year, and is a drama film starring Holliday Grainger, Lukas Haas and Harry Treadaway. She is also starring alongside Kelsey Grammer, Jessica De Gouw and Rosemarie DeWitt in the F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation of 'The Last Tycoon' which has been picked up after the initial pilot episode to go to series through Amazon. 

All up Collins has fifteen Acting credits to her name, and she has so far accumulated three award wins and six nominations including the aforementioned Golden Globe nod. She is guarded about her private life, given her experiences associated with her childhood and growing up in the spotlight of her parents public divorce, and the apparent rift it created between her and her father Phil Collins. She has recently released her first book, 'Unfiltered : No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me' - a personal collection of essays and photographs presented in poignant conversations about the things that young women struggle with. Collins also acts as a Celebrity Ambassador for the anti-bullying organisation 'Bystander Revolution'.

Lily Collins - grew up in the world of entertainment and under the media spotlight; has turned her hand successfully to journalism, modelling, film, television, writing and even singing on the soundtracks of 'Mirror Mirror' and 'Rules Don't Apply'; made the 'Hottest Daughters of Rock Stars' list in 2009 and was voted as one of 'World's Most Beautiful Women' in 2012; is renowned for her set of full eyebrows; is clearly on the up and more and more in demand. Happy Birthday to you Lily, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-