Born as Bille Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell, she was raised in Los Angeles by performer parents. Her mom, Maggie Baird, is an actress, screenwriter and songwriter.
Billie Eilish wrote her first song at the age of four. She told
Coup de Main it was "about falling into a black hole, but being happy to be there."
At the age of eight, Eilish was singing in the Los Angeles Children's Chorus.
Eilish released her debut EP, Don't Smile At Me, when she was just 15 years old. Released on August 11, 2017, it charted all over the world.
Eilish writes most of her songs with her older brother, Finneas O'Connell, who also produces her tracks. Their creative partnership has produced such songs as "
Ocean Eyes," "
When The Party's Over" and "
Come Out and Play."
Finneas O'Connell is also an actor who has appeared in
Glee,
Modern Family and
Bad Teacher.
Eilish is an excellent dancer and feels able to express herself just as well through that medium as in music. However a couple of injuries in her mid teens has restricted her dancing.
Billie Eilish has Tourette syndrome, which she was diagnosed with as a child. Many link Tourette's with involuntary swearing, but only 10-15% of people with the disorder have outbursts that use swear words or offensive gestures. In Eilish's case, she exhibits physical tics, not verbal.
With a total of 14 tracks, Billie Eilish beat by one Cardi B's record for most simultaneous Billboard US Hot 100 entries by a female, on the chart dated April 13, 2019. 12 of the 14 songs featured on the tally came from the teen singer's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? album, which had been released the week before.
What is it about Eilish that connects with fans? Bonnie McKee, who co-wrote five of Katy Perry's #1 hits,
told Songfacts: "Her voice is so angelic and the music that she's making is so introspective. A lot of it is almost like a lullaby. Pairing that kind of music with this exciting visual and this exciting character and production is really exciting - it's really different."
She came of age in the streaming era, so she never purchased a CD.
Billie Eilish won on five of the six awards she was nominated for at the 2020 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. She was the first female to win the four main Grammy categories in the same year and the first person to do so since Christopher Cross did in 1981.
Billie Eilish won't refer to the people who buy her records and attend her concerts as fans. She explained in her 2021 Apple TV documentary, The World's a Little Blurry, "I never call them fans. They're a part of me. Every single person is going through something. The least I can do is make the art I make because I have the same problems."
Billie Eilish's parents raised her vegetarian. The singer later went vegan and became an advocate for animal rights. In 2019, she won a PETA "Best Voice for Animals" award for her online activism.
Eilish – pronounced EYE-lish- was listed among the most mispronounced names and words by American broadcasters in 2021 in a report released by the US Captioning Company. The singer earned her spot amidst words and names like "cheugy," "dogecoin," "Glasgow," "omicron" and "Kelce" (football players Jason and Travis Kelce).
After some traumatic experiences while swimming, she became frightened of the water as a kid, a fear she overcame for the cover shoot of her 2024 album Hit Me Hard And Soft, which found her submerged for long stretches. She's still afraid of whales, though.
Billie Eilish doesn't just eat sandwiches - she embraces them as a surprise package. When asked by Stephen Colbert about her favorite sandwich, she admitted that she usually doesn't bother to look inside; she just eats them. Whether it's a "pesto situation" with eggplant or the "Reading Rainbow" from her favorite sandwich shop, Ike's, Billie believes that sandwiches are best enjoyed without knowing all the ingredients. She even confesses her love for a simple peanut butter and jelly, proving that when it comes to sandwiches, she's just like the rest of us - happy to savor the mystery.
When Billie Eilish goes on tour, she brings both her parents along, not just for emotional support, but because they are part of the crew! Her dad, who refuses to reveal his full name to avoid any special treatment, works as a set carpenter, helping build stages, stairs, and even sweeping the floors. Meanwhile, her mom stays close by Billie, sharing a hotel room with her. Billie told Jimmy Kimmel her dad is determined to be "useful" and is fully involved in the crew's daily grind, starting his day as early as 3 a.m. and working alongside the roadies.
