Seeing how popular Billie is, don't take that fame for granted. Yes, perhaps the whole world
knows who Billie Eilish is, but many people forget the hard work she has gone through.
A huge part of Billie and Finneas' formation rests on the shoulders of their...parents.
But did you know what they had to do to make their children who they became?
It's usually just briefly mentioned, but we'll tell you all about it. All about Billie,
her family, her struggles, her secrets and her parents' current role in her singing career.
Surely you know that Billie was not born into the richest family.
Maggie worked as an actor, vocal artist, and screenwriter through the nineties and early
aughts. She was a background artist in popular television series like Friends, The X-Files,
Curb Your Enthusiasm and was even involved with The Groundlings as a member and a teacher.
The Groundlings was a sketch comedy troupe. And there Maggie worked with
up-and-coming comedians like Will Ferrell, Melissa McCarthy, and Kristen Wiig.
Billie’s dad Patrick played bit parts in a handful of shows and movies, including The West Wing,
Baskets, Iron Man. Patrick and Maggie met while filming a project in Alaska and married in 1995.
They welcomed their first child, son Finneas, in 1997.
Naturally the parents wanted to become famous, worked as hard as they could,
and waited for the right opportunity to rise to the top, but that moment never came.
Billie’s parents weren’t huge A-listers who had assistants, agents, and PR professionals lined
up at their door, catering to each and every one of their desires and ego trips. They were
working actors who lived paycheck to paycheck and were highly dependent on their next role to
get them through the month and pay their bills. This is the case for the majority of actors in
the entertainment industry; you go through roles one after the other and hope to catch
a lucky break one day and land a consistent gig. That's what Finneas, Billie's brother, told once
about his family: “During my lifetime, our parents were never able to fully financially support us by
their work as actors. Our dad worked 12 hours 7 days a week as a construction worker for Mattel
and our mom was a teacher. Our parents gave us love but knew no one in the record industry.»
As per Rolling Stone and confirmed by Billie’s dad himself, they were “unemployed actors” who
decided to press pause on their careers to homeschool their children and nurture their
creative abilities. Maggie and Patrick ensured that their children were fully encouraged to
pursue and excel in their passions — despite the family’s unstable financial situation.
The constant lack of money was felt in literally everything. No,
their parents had money, but they never had savings, they could never stop and rest for
a moment - they always needed money. Maggie shared in an interview that Finneas was only
able to attend a singing lesson because she’d arranged to cook for the teacher.
Similarly, Patrick exchanged handyman services for Billie’s gymnastic classes. These sorts of
sacrifices extended to their household as well — Maggie and Patrick chose to “sleep
on the futon in the living room” so that Billie and Finneas could be spared from sharing a room.
Both Maggie and Patrick were amateur musicians and kept three pianos in their
modest two-bedroom house, with music residing in every “nook and cranny” of their home.
Maggie taught her children the basics of songwriting so that they could develop a
passion for creating and writing music. In fact, nothing gave the parents more joy than
seeing their children becoming budding, thriving artists before their very eyes.
In one of the interviews Billie mentioned one interesting rule that always existed at home.
"We had a rule that was kind of a household respected thing of just no matter what time
it was, no matter how old we were, if we were creating, writing music, playing piano,
playing guitar, or any instrument at all, we could stay up as long as we were doing that."
The family faced their share of financial difficulties, but they worked together to treat
their children to whichever tools and structures they needed to succeed as ambitious young artists.
Billie also added that “being creative” was the most critical consideration in their
household — not the technical “esoterica you’ll never use” from high school.
Maggie and Patrick sacrificed several luxuries and privileges when raising Billie and Finneas,
so it’s only fitting that they’re able to reap the rewards of Billie’s outstanding career.
For example, Finneas said, that he paid off parents' entire mortgage,
and “Billie pays them full time salary to tour with them,” even though Maggie and Patrick had
allegedly told them that they would do it at no cost. Of course, parents don't
want to accept help from their children, but since they made the kids who they are today,
Maggie and Patrick have every right to do so. This is at least. It's also nice that Billie
and Finneas have a great sense of gratitude - it's not such a frequent feature in our world.
So at what point did the parents decide to switch completely to their children
and work only with them? It happened almost immediately, because Billie and Finneas became
popular very quickly. The kids weren't ready for the fame that came over them.
Therefore, their mom and dad had to rapidly adapt to the onslaught of fame.
When Patrick realized that Billie’s career was taking off, he decided to quit his construction
job and become her “one-man crew,” undertaking everything from driving the van to doing the
lights. His handyman skills are as helpful as ever when he joins his daughter on tour — he takes
it upon himself to “fix whatever needs fixing,” whether it’s carpentry or cleaning up the floors.
As for Maggie, she works around the clock as Billie’s “psychological gatekeeper.”
She’s the first and frequently the only point of contact between Billie and the rest of the world.
She’ll ensure that her daughter’s mental health is prioritized, that the 37-person
crew is content and getting along, and that the siblings remain focused on the big picture.
Here is what Maggie says about this situation: "You also know that someone has to be completely
your child’s advocate. That’s fallen to us. She can speak up for herself,
and she does. But sensing that she needs a break or she’s tired, that’s mom”.
Billie, on the other hand, has nothing but immense love and respect for her parents’ sacrifices.
She said Maggie is the “best mama in the world” and that she and her dad are “very similar.”
She also expressed admiration for Maggie and Patrick’s respective skillsets in the arts
and said that she wishes they’d had more recognition early on. Her ultimate goal is to make
a movie featuring the two of them, said Billie. "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."
Well, now you've said this. Knowing Billie, she can do it and do it well!
We would be only too happy to watch the result! Maggie and Patrick were thought to have spoiled
Billie and Finneas with their industry perks, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The media and the public overestimated their fame, not knowing that they’ve fought tooth
and nail to cultivate creativity in their children and lead them towards the arts.
They could have just taken the easy way out and only remain focused on their basic necessities.
Yet, they made it a mission to foster their talent and empower them to create beautiful,
fulfilling art. This parenting example will serve well as an example to other parents,
because you just look at what monsters, in a good way, they grew up to be!
Billie and Finneas are not only rich and famous, but they are also happy.
An unbelievably wonderful family.