Billie Eilish’s Parents: Everything to Know About Her Supportive Mom & Dad After ’SNL’ Cameo
The ‘Happier Than Ever’ singer and her brother Finneas are pop superstars. Find out more about the musical siblings’ parents!
While Billie Eilish was pulling double duty as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live on December 10, her parents made sure it was a family celebration, when introducing their 19-year-old daughter and their son Finneas, 24, to perform the title track from Billie’s latest album Happier Than Ever. It’s not surprising to learn that Billie comes from a creative family, and her mom Maggie Baird, 62, and dad Patrick O’Connell, 64, encouraged her music career. Find out more about Billie’s parents here!
Both of Billie’s parents are actors
While their daughter is an international popstar, Maggie and Patrick were no strangers to the entertainment industry. Both are actors who have made appearances in major TV shows and movies. Maggie has had small roles in individual episodes of renowned hits like The West Wing and Bones. She also co-starred along with Finneas in 2013’s Life Inside Out, via her IMDb page. Patrick also made an appearance in The West Wing and had a part in Life Inside Out. Some of his other roles include playing a reporter in Iron Man and appearing in one episode of Supergirl, according to his IMDb page.
Billie raved about her parents’ acting abilities during a July 2019 interview with Rolling Stone. “I saw my parents beat up over the fact that they didn’t have it better. And that drove me insane — because they were really good! My dad is the best actor I’ve ever seen. And my mom can do all these voices and characters — she’s incredible. So I wish they’d had more recognition. I actually want to make a movie and put them in it — I’ve never told anyone that,” she said.
Billie’s parents homeschooled her
It’s been well-documented that Billie didn’t have the typical American school experience, and she was homeschooled instead. Her parents wanted to spend more time with their kids and also wanted to encourage their artistic expression, according to a Vogue cover story from February 2020. Billie credited her parents decision to homeschool her as part of why she’s been so successful. “I’m so glad I didn’t go to school, because if I had, I would never have the life I have now,” she told Vogue.
Patrick also explained that the two didn’t force their kids to know all the technical terminology that they might in a normal school setting. “Our whole stance was, general knowledge is all,” he told Rolling Stone in 2019. “You need to know why the sky is blue, but you don’t need to memorize a bunch of esoterica you’ll never use.”
Maggie had Billie with the help of IVF
While her brother Finneas was conceived naturally, Billie found out that her parents went to a fertility clinic to help conceive her during a 2019 interview with Howard Stern, via Popbuzz. When the radio personality asked Maggie and Patrick how they’d conceived Billie so other parents could have successful children, Maggie admitted, “Well, Billie was conceived with the existence of a fertility clinic,” and Patrick joked about being “alone in a dark room.” Howard quipped about the revelation shocking Billie, telling her she looked like she was “going to pass out.”
Billie’s parents have helped work their daughter’s tours
Patrick and Maggie have accompanied Billie on her early tours and taken a real part in helping her career grow. Patrick mentioned that the couple as well as Finneas were the only people on Billie’s first tour (besides her tour manager Brian Marquis and a merch salesman) in the 2019 interview with Rolling Stone. Patrick did lights and drove a van on her first tour. “I wanted to be a part of it, because it’s pretty darn cool,” he said. Both parents were paid as part of Billie’s crew on the 2019 tour.
Maggie described working on Billie’s career as a “full-time job” in an interview with Your Teen Mag. “We’re the only people who have 100% her interest at heart. I can’t say enough good things about her team; on every level, they’re amazing. But you also know that someone has to be completely your child’s advocate,” she said.
Maggie has also released an album of her own
It’s no surprise that there seems to be a musical gene in Billie’s family. Maggie actually released an album of her own in 2009. The album We Sail is filled with folky, country songs. While the sound is very different from her daughter’s, it’s totally clear that she got some of her singing ability from her mama! Billie has also said that her mom was an inspiration and teacher for her to write songs of her own in an October 2017 interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “I feel like I was always I wanted to write songs just because my brother did, and also my mom did. She taught both of us how to write and so I always have high standards for writing,” Billie said.