2001–present
Billie Eilish News: Singer Nominated for 7 Grammy Awards
Billie Eilish is nominated for an impressive seven Grammy Awards heading into the 67th annual ceremony on February 2. The 23-year-old is competing for the prestigious Album of the Year for her latest record Hit Me Hard and Soft, as well as Best Pop Vocal Album, while her hit single “Birds of a Feather” is contending for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance.
Eilish has also earned nods for Best Dance Pop Recording for the extended edit of her track “L’Amour de Ma Vie” and Best Pop Duo Performance for her collaboration with Charli XCX on “Guess.” With nine Grammy wins already under her belt, she now has the chance to nearly double her trophy collection.
Who Is Billie Eilish?
Billie Eilish is a Grammy-winning pop and alternative singer known for such hits as “Bad Guy,” “What Was I Made For?,” “Lunch,” and “Birds of a Feather.” Born and raised in Los Angeles, Eilish was barely a teenager when her song “Ocean Eyes” became a viral hit. She teamed with her brother, Finneas, to create her 2017 breakout EP Don’t Smile at Me and hit debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2019, establishing herself as a global sensation before the age of 20. In total, she has released three studio albums and has won nine Grammy Awards and two Oscars for her music to date. Her latest work, 2024’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, earned her several 2025 Grammy nominations.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell
BORN: December 18, 2001
BIRTHPLACE: Los Angeles, California
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius
Early Life and Family
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell was born in Los Angeles on December 18, 2001. Her first name is in honor of her maternal grandfather, William; the second was inspired by a conjoined twin her parents saw in a documentary; and the third came from the insistence of her older brother, Finneas.
Billie’s parents, Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, were longtime actors before joining their teenage daughter’s professional team. Raised in a two-bedroom house in Highland Park, where she and her brother were homeschooled, Eilish was encouraged to pursue her interests in dance, gymnastics, horseback riding, and especially music. She started playing ukulele at the age of 6. The first song she learned to play was “I Will” by The Beatles.
When she was 8 years old, Eilish joined the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, where she learned to hone her vocal talent. By age 11, she began writing songs in earnest with the help of her mother’s songwriting class. Eilish has said her first “real” song, “Fingers Crossed,” was penned around that time after watching an episode of The Walking Dead. Despite her musical talent, Eilish initially wanted to be a dancer, but after a growth plate injury in her hip ended her dance ambitions at the age of 13, she decided to fully embrace music.
Music Career
Eilish’s singing career took off when she and her brother, Finneas, uploaded “Ocean Eyes” to SoundCloud in November 2015. Originally written by Finneas for his band, the mournful song sprung to life when infused with 13-year-old Eilish’s ethereal vocals. The song became a viral sensation. The following June, she released another SoundCloud offering, “Six Feet Under,” which her brother also wrote and produced. In August 2016, Eilish signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records, which re-released both tracks as singles later in the year.
Finneas continued to be an indispensable collaborator, working with Eilish on every project. “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 told Variety in December 2019. “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.”
Eilish released her first EP, Don’t Smile at Me, in August 2017. She and her brother co-wrote most of the songs and produced the project in its entirety. Eilish’s popularity surged with the steady unveiling of the singles “Bellyache,” “Copycat,” “My Boy,” and “Idontwannabeyouanymore,” showcasing her willingness to explore dark and prickly terrain amid a stream of shifting but danceable electronic beats. Don’t Smile at Me peaked at an impressive No. 14 on the Billboard 200 in January 2019, around which time Eilish became the youngest artist to top 1 billion streams on Spotify.
The singer’s debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, arrived in March 2019. Its lead single, “Bad Guy,” quickly became the first mega hit of her career. The chart-topping album retained the early hallmarks of her unique style, from the whispered ruminations on drug use in “Xanny” to the jarring imagery of “Bury a Friend.” Eilish also displayed her theatrical sensibilities in the riveting videos for those and other tracks. “When the Party’s Over” shows the artist singing through the black liquid pouring from her eyes, while “You Should See Me in a Crown” features a spider crawling from her mouth.
Later that year, Eilish began earning her first major accolades when she claimed wins at the MTV Video Awards and American Music Awards and was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year. But her big moment came at the Grammys in January 2020 when she became the first woman and the second artist overall to sweep the big four categories of Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, adding Best Pop Vocal Album for good measure.
In February 2020, the 18-year-old Eilish became the youngest artist to write and record the title track for a James Bond movie. The ominous ballad “No Time to Die” landed ahead of the release of the film of the same name, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and later won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original song in 2022, as well as a Grammy. She has also contributed to the soundtracks of other projects. She previously recorded the tracks “Bored” and “Lovely” featuring Khalid for the controversial teen Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and “When I Was Older” for Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 drama Roma.
Eilish released her next studio effort, Happier Than Ever, in July 2021. Another chart-topper, the downtempo record featured the singles “Your Power,” “My Future,” “Lost Cause,” and the title track. It was later accompanied by a concert film in September, titled Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles. While the film, album, and track “Happier Than Ever” earned her several Grammy nominations, Eilish walked away empty-handed.
The artist returned to creating songs for soundtracks in February 2022, when she co-wrote but didn’t sing “Nobody Like U” with Finneas for the animated movie Turning Red. The following July, Eilish released the solemn “What Was I Made For?” for the 2023 blockbuster Barbie. In addition to securing her another Academy Award and another Golden Globe, the track won her two more Grammys. In total, Eilish has earned nine Grammys out of 32 nominations.
Hit Songs
Eilish has scored several hits since she burst onto the music scene in 2015 with her debut single “Ocean Eyes.” The singer has had an impressive 44 songs make it into the Billboard Hot 100, including seven songs in the top 10. Her first and only No. 1 hit is the 2019 single “Bad Guy,” which delivered two of her first few Grammy Awards. The Grammy-winning “Everything I Wanted” cracked the Hot 100’s top 10 that same year, and in 2020, “Therefore I Am” came close to topping the chart, peaking at No. 2.
Beyond the charts, Eilish has also won several awards for her music, including nine Grammys, two Oscars, and two Golden Globes. The 2020 track “No Time To Die” won the artist her first Academy and Golden Globe awards, as well as another Grammy. This award trifecta was repeated again following the release of “What Was I Made For?,” which was written for the 2023 Barbie movie.
In 2024, Eilish released the top 10 singles “Birds of a Feather” and “Lunch” from her album Hit Me Hard and Soft. Some of her other hits include “Bury a Friend,” “My Future,” “Your Power,”“Happier Than Ever,” “Wildflower,” and “Guess” with Charli XCX.
Albums
To date, Eilish has released three studio albums:
Clothes and Style
Eilish is known for wearing oversized clothing, a style born from discomfort with her body that bolstered her appeal as the antithesis of the polished pop starlet. She met the demand for her signature apparel with the early 2018 launch of her online shop, Blohsh, and established her own niche in the fashion world by signing with Next Models later that year. Since then, she has expanded her wardrobe to occasionally include more form-fitting high fashion.
Tours and Documentary
Eilish embarked on her first headlining tour to back her EP Don’t Smile at Me in October 2017 and went back on the road for two more promotional tours, Where’s My Mind Tour and 1 By 1 Tour, which concluded in March 2019. Following the release of her first studio album, her When We All Fall Asleep Tour ran from April to November 2019 and included show-stopping performances at Coachella and Glastonbury Festival. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the 2020 Where Do We Go? Tour was cut short and eventually canceled.
Her whirlwind schedule and life inside the eye of the storm became the focal point of the February 2021 documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, featuring childhood footage, interviews with family members, and a behind-the-scenes look of the singer putting together her debut album. The film earned four Creative Arts Emmy Award nominations.
Eilish supported her second studio album with The Happier Than Ever World Tour, which ran from February to April 2022. Two years, the singer returned to touring several months after her latest record, Hit Me Hard and Soft, came out. After concluding the U.S. leg of the tour in December 2024, Eilish will hold concerts across Europe and Australia, beginning in February 2025.
Mental Health
In November 2018, Eilish announced she was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome as child. The neurological condition causes involuntary movements and vocal tics. “I’ve taught myself ways of suppressing my tics and certain techniques to help [reduce] them when I don’t want to be distracting in certain situations,” she wrote on her Instagram story. “I’ve just never wanted people to think of tourettes every time they think of me.”
Eilish also up about her mental health struggles in an interview with Gayle King in January 2020, revealing that she considered suicide even as she was being fêted the next big thing in pop music. “I was so unhappy last year,” she said. “I genuinely didn’t think I would make it to 17.” Fortunately, her mother reduced her strenuous touring schedule and helped her get access to therapy.
Social and Political Views
A life-long vegetarian, Eilish made the transition to a vegan diet in 2014 for ethical and environmental reasons. Outspoken in her concern for the environment, Eilish joined actor Woody Harrelson in 2019 for a video that highlighted the dangers of climate change.
She has also urged her fan base to become active voters, notably pairing with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on an initiative to register high school students in 2018. As a first-time voter in 2020, Eilish performed at the Democratic National Convention and gave an impassioned speech encouraging people to vote. “We all have to vote like our lives and our world depend on it—because they do,” she said. In November 2024, Eilish stopped one of her concerts to urge attendees to vote for Kamala Harris in the presidential election. Following President Donald Trump’s election win just days later, she reacted to the results onstage, saying, “Someone who hates women so, so deeply is about to be the president of the United States of America.”
Dating Life
While Eilish has kept her dating life relatively private, she has shared some details over the years. In her 2021 documentary, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, she revealed that she was dating rapper Brandon Adams, but by the end of the film, they had broken up. That same year, in April 2021, she was spotted with actor Matthew Tyler Vorce but didn’t confirm their relationship until after they split the following year. “I feel extremely grateful for the relationship that I was in last year,” Eilish told Vanity Fair in November 2022. “I think he’s fucking so much happier now, which makes me really happy.”
In the same interview, she revealed that she was dating The Neighborhood frontman Jesse Rutherford. Addressing their 10-year age gap, she said, “I’m in control. I’m in charge. I know what I’m doing.” After less than a year of dating, the couple called it quits in May 2023.
A few months later, Eilish came out as queer, telling Variety in November 2023 that she was “attracted” to women “for real.” At Variety’s Hitmakers event in the following month, she said that she didn’t mean to formally come out to the public but clarified that she “didn’t realize people didn’t know” already. “I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious?’”
Net Worth
As of November 2024, Eilish has an estimated net worth of $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Quotes
- Writing a song is so personal. You have to have trust in someone you’re working with; otherwise, you’re not gonna come out with something that’s really you.
- I don’t want people at my shows to come out and say, “I just saw a cool show.” I want them to say, “I had fun at the show.” I want it to be a collaborative thing and be part of the audience and have them be part of me. I try to interact with everyone there and have them be equal to me because they are.
- My brother had written “Ocean Eyes,” and we recorded it, basing all of the production around contemporary and lyrical dance. I think of most songs that way—if you can’t dance to a song, it’s not a song.
- I don’t know how to function without music. When I’m not making it, I’m listening to it. It gives me courage and takes care of my mind.
- I’ve always done whatever I want and always been exactly who I am.
Darkroom/Interscope Records When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Vinyl
Darkroom/Interscope Records Hit Me Hard and Soft Vinyl
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