Now that Billie is famous, it's especially interesting to remember how she grew up and
what helped her achieve such great success. An unusual and proper upbringing, homeschooling, the
love and support of her family, but... what else? As she was growing up, her parents showered
Billie and her brother with love, affection and encouragement. While they weren’t particularly
wealthy, they did anything they could to advance the abilities and desires of the siblings,
helping them to learn how to play musical instruments, and sending
them for dance classes and choir attendances. In one article, Eilish admitted that her parents
never said they were proud of her, but that may have been a simple tactic to drive them to
accomplish more – this is something Billie herself understood well. The choice obviously worked,
as Billie Eilish had a net worth of six million dollars by the age of just eighteen.
The parents – Patrick and Maggie – opted to homeschool the children,
affording them the opportunity to spend as much time as possible learning about
their passions – music, and art. This would have undoubtedly led to deeper bonding opportunities,
as the time the family would have spent together was far above the average for most teenagers.
In general, homeschooling is becoming more and more popular every year.
And no wonder, because there are a lot of advantages. For Billie, it was rare to see
her sat down at a table working out math sums or reading through a literature book. Instead,
she learned through doing and this is what Billie describes as being "schooled through life.
“What I’m saying is I learned sh** in life. I feel like when you’re sat down
and somebody’s shoving things in your throat you’re not gonna wanna eat them.” She added.
In her appearance on the Zach Sang Show, Billie dished her thoughts on why all children aren’t
homeschooled and she didn’t hold back! She mentioned that parents being “lazy as f***” was
the reason why children aren’t homeschooled. She added that being homeschooled helped
her understand the reason why you needed to memorize and know things you’re traditionally
taught in school and that this method helped her to grasp things better.
You must agree that there is some truth in Billie's words. Kids don't get distracted by
unnecessary schoolwork, they should not socialize with cocky and bullying peers, and they have a lot
more free time to spend on things that interest them. Like music or dancing, like Billie.
Also one of the main features of the Eilish family upbringing was No Sibling Rivalry.
It’s a common theme in many mediums to have siblings fight like cats and dogs.
There have been many movies or TV shows in which siblings – particularly
boy-girl partnerships – do not get along, and behave like chalk and cheese.
Billie Eilish and her biological brother, Finneas O’Connell, have well
and truly bucked that trend. They have been inseparable since a young age, undertaking
many of their extra-curricular activities (such as dancing) together. It was in fact Finneas who
worked tirelessly in mixing, editing and creating Billie Eilish’s earliest tracks.
In fact, the song ‘everything i wanted’ was directed by the duo, and shows them driving in
Billie’s own car (a Dodge Challenger) along a highway, and right into a body of water.
This was supposed to be a depiction of the love the siblings had for each other,
and an example of the lengths they’d go to in staying close.
If that’s not a deep, familial link by blood, then nothing is.
The connection between the family as a whole resonates on the musical scene as well.
Eilish has explained that her parents also join the sibling duo on tour:
her father is part of the crew and her mother works as her assistant. So, not only is this
Billie’s biological family, but it’s also the people who help her bring her talent to the world.
Without a doubt, this is a sincere and genuine family. Watching them, one is imbued with love.
Many people tell us that Billie's family was poor. That is not entirely true. They were not rich,
they had to work hard, but they were never poor in the general sense of the word.
Yes, there were instances in her childhood where her family couldn't afford certain things,
such as horse-riding lessons. However, since her mid-teens, Eilish has had more money than
she knows how to spend. So the complaining articles about their poverty are not true.
Billie Eilish didn’t have a typical upbringing, that’s for certain.
Her family raised her in the depths of Los Angeles, an inherently expensive location to live.
Although their home was small, it was in a preferential neighborhood and was well-furnished.
Billie’s parents had already seen their fair share of fame, working as actors and singer-songwriters.
As Billie and Finneas grew up, the home was packed
with musical instruments and other artistic means to express themselves,
such as through art or photography. In fact, the only memory that Eilish
has recalled (on record) of any struggle is the inability of her family to pay for
horse riding lessons when she was young. She combatted this lack of funding by
working at a nearby stable, but claims she quit the job as other, 'richer' staff looked
down at her for being the 'poor girl'. However, things certainly changed and the
tables turned when Eilish and her brother wrote and released (totally independently)
her first track, Ocean Eyes. Well, you all know what happened next.
Why all this talk? The point is that the parents did everything right,
and Billie never felt that they were short of funds or had many problems. Yes,
now Billie is basking in fame, she's rich, and it's not exactly a "normal life."
But...In an interview, Eilish confirmed that she never wanted a normal life. Since a young age,
she’d been eager to follow a path far away from what was considered ‘normal’. So, guys, it's okay.