Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s mom, Maggie Baird, is pushing back against the “nepo baby” label that’s been attached to her children. While Maggie and her husband, Patrick O’Connell, are actors and musicians, she argues that their children’s success isn’t due to privilege but rather their own hard work and talent.
In a candid interview with Glamour, Maggie addressed the accusations after an old clip of her appearing on Friends resurfaced on social media, sparking conversation about Billie and Finneas being “nepo babies.” Maggie responded to these claims with a mix of humor and realism.
“That came out, and it was like, ‘Oh, Billie is a nepo baby,’” Maggie recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Did you know that I got that episode of Friends because I was about to lose my health insurance?’” She emphasized that her and Patrick’s careers have been far from glamorous, describing them as “working class actors.”
Maggie continued, explaining that they had a “meager living” while raising their kids, which, despite the financial challenges, afforded them a lot of time together as a family. This, she believes, was invaluable in helping Billie and Finneas grow into who they are today. “It afforded us a lot of time with our kids, which was awesome.”
She also highlighted that the level of fame Billie, 22, and Finneas, 27, have achieved is something she and Patrick never experienced, saying they are “working class actors.”
Maggie’s reflections gave insight into the reality of being a “nepo baby” in a creative household. “People don’t really understand there’s a whole industry of people who are creative and they’re working and they’re struggling, and they make perfectly happy lives, and they feel creative, and they feel fulfilled. But that’s a very different life than on this side of the door where you’re suddenly playing in this different arena.”
Despite the massive fame and success Billie and Finneas have found, Maggie says their close-knit family dynamic has kept them grounded. “You step onstage in front of 100,000 people, and that’s an hour and a half,” Maggie shared. “But then the rest of the time, you’re at the dinner table, and your brother is giving you s—t. The family part is what keeps it sane.”
Maggie also reminded the public that, behind the fame, Billie and Finneas are just people. “You get a bad review in a local paper, and it’s a bummer,” she said. “But you don’t have millions of people commenting on you. And it is kind of an experimental generation that we are parenting.”
She added that raising children in the age of social media is like an experiment, and navigating that with their fame adds another layer of complexity.
At the heart of it, Maggie wants people to remember that Billie and Finneas are human. Despite their incredible success, they face the same challenges and emotional ups and downs as anyone else.
