Washington, October 4
Grammy-winning artist Billie Eilish has achieved a lot in her career. However, her mother Maggie Baird doesn't believe that she became famous because of nepotism, reported E! News.
Maggie Baird, who also shares son Finneas with her husband Patrick O'Connell denies Billie and Finneas are "nepo babies" simply because she and Patrick are both in the entertainment industry.
"That came out, and it was like, 'Oh, Billie is a nepo baby,'" said Maggie, adding, "And I'm like, 'Did you know that I got that episode of Friends because I was about to lose my health insurance?'"
Maggie described herself and her husband, who has been in Iron Man and The West Wing, as "working-class actors."
"We eked out a meager living," she continued, "and it afforded us a lot of time with our kids, which was awesome."
Maggie noted that she and Patrick had never experienced the level of popularity that Billie, 22, and Finneas, 27, had as kids and that many individuals working in Hollywood and the entertainment sector do not either.
"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," she added. "But that's a very different life than on this side of the door where you're suddenly playing in this different arena."
And as she's watched her children achieve more and more success--like when they broke the record for youngest two-time Oscar winners--she's thankful that they have managed to maintain a close-knit family unit.
"You step onstage in front of 100,000 people, and that's an hour and a half," she said, "and then the rest of the time you're at the dinner table and your brother is giving you... The family part is the part that keeps it sane."
The main thing Maggie wants people to remember about Billie and Finneas is "they're all human."
"You get a bad review in a local paper--you know what I mean?--that's a bummer," she said, adding, "But you don't have millions of people commenting on you. And it is kind of an experimental generation that we are parenting, reported E! News.