Billie Eilish, a Los Angeles native, was barely a teenager when her song “Ocean Eyes” became viral. She and her brother, Finneas, collaborated on music for the EP “Don’t Smile at Me” and the album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”, propelling her to global fame and multiple Grammy awards before the age of 20.
Early Life
Billie Eilish was born on December 18, 2001, in L.A. Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell. Her first name honors her maternal grandpa, William; the second was inspired by a conjoined twin her parents watched in a documentary; and the third came at the urging of her older brother, Finneas.
Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, Billie’s parents, were experienced performers before joining their adolescent daughter’s professional team.Eilish was homeschooled and encouraged to pursue her hobbies in ballet, gymnastics, horseback riding, and music while growing up in a two-bedroom house in Highland Park. She learnt to play the Beatles’ “I Will” on the ukulele when she was six years old, joined the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus when she was eight, and began creating songs in earnest by the age of eleven, thanks to her mother’s songwriting classes. According to Eilish, her first “real” song, “Fingers Crossed,” was inspired by an episode of The Walking Dead.
Brother Finneas
Finneas, the elder sibling by four and a half years, became his sister’s invaluable collaborator, co-writer, and producer, and the two continued to compose and record together from a bedroom in their Highland Park home even after Eilish’s global success.
“Probably 75-80 percent of the songs are written with us sitting next to each other at a piano or with a guitar, singing a melody together,” he said in a 2019 interview with Variety. “It’s like a relay race — we really feel like we both have to kill our portion of it to get to the finish line.”
Finneas, who released the solo EP “Blood Harmony” in October 2019, has also co-written and produced tunes for popular musicians such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Camila Cabello.
Albums and Songs
“Ocean Eyes”
Originally created for Finneas’ band, “Ocean Eyes” sprung to life when infused with a 13-year-old Eilish’s ethereal voice and became a viral success upon being uploaded to SoundCloud in November 2015. Her second SoundCloud release, “Six Feet Under,” was followed by a summer 2016 deal with Darkroom Records, who re-released both tracks as singles later that year.
Don’t Smile at Me
Eilish’s fame grew with the release of hits from her August 2017 EP, Don’t Smile at Me. Tracks like “Bellyache,” “Copycat,” and “My Boy” showcased her ability to explore dark and thorny terrain over shifting yet danceable electronic sounds.In January 2019, Don’t Smile at Me peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, marking Eilish as the youngest artist to reach 1 billion Spotify streams.
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and “Bad Guy”
In March 2019, Eilish’s full-length album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, was released alongside the single “Bad Guy,” which became her first megahit. Nonetheless, the chart-topping album preserved the early hallmarks of her distinct style, from the whispered ruminations on drug usage in “Xanny” to the startling imagery of “Bury a Friend.” Eilish’s theatrical tastes were also on display in the captivating videos for those and other tracks; “When the Party’s Over” depicts her singing through black liquid spilling from her eyes, while “You Should See Me in a Crown” has a spider crawling from her mouth.
James Bond Soundtrack: “No Time to Die”
In January 2020, it was announced that the 18-year-old Eilish had become the youngest musician to write and perform the title track for a James Bond movie. The gloomy ballad “No Time to Die” debuted the following month, when the film of the same name was postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and became her first single to hit number one in the United Kingdom.
Eilish has contributed to the soundtracks of several productions, including “Bored” and “Lovely” for the Netflix adolescent series 13 Reasons Why and “When I Was Older” for Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 film Roma.
Awards
In 2019, Eilish won MTV Video Awards, American Music Awards, and was awarded Billboard’s Woman of the Year, marking her first major accomplishments. In January 2020, she made history by winning the “big four” categories of Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, as well as Best Pop Vocal Album.
Eilish won two Grammy awards in 2021, including Record of the Year for “Everything I Wanted.” In January 2024, Eilish won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song – Motion Picture. Her most recent victory is for “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie (2023).
Clothes and Style
Eilish’s large clothing style, inspired by dissatisfaction with her physique, let her stand out as the antithesis of the polished pop diva. She launched her online shop, Blohsh, in early 2018 to meet demand for her unique attire. Later that year, she signed with Next Models to build her own fashion niche.
Tours and Documentary
with fall 2017, the artist started on her first headlining tour to support Don’t Smile at Me. She continued touring for the next two years, culminating with her 2020 Where Do We Go? The Covid-19 pandemic curtailed the tour short and ultimately canceled it. Eilish has also received recognition for her appearances at some of the industry’s major events, including Coachella and Glastonbury in 2019.
The documentary Billy Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, released in February 2021, focuses on the singer’s hectic schedule and life in the spotlight. The film also includes childhood video, interviews with family members, and a look at her debut album.
Personal Life
Eilish, a lifelong vegetarian, switched to a vegan diet in 2014.
Eilish has openly discussed her mental health difficulties, revealing to Gayle King in early 2020 that she considered suicide while being hailed as the next pop music sensation. In November 2018, the singer disclosed that she was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome as a child.
In 2019, Eilish collaborated with actor Woody Harrelson to raise awareness about the risks of climate change. In 2018, she collaborated with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to register high school students and encourage her fans to vote.