Billie Eilish's Mom Fires Back at Nepotism Talk: 'We Were Working-Class Actors'

Billie Eilish's quick rise in the entertainment world has led to debates about whether she's just a product of nepotism. It's a term used for children whose parents' fame and connections help get them ahead.

Yet, her mother, Maggie Baird, has a different take on the matter. In a recent feature for Glamour magazine's Women of the Year edition, she shared her perspective.

Baird was in a 1999 episode of "Friends," and in the interview, she revealed the practical reasons behind securing her role on the show. Finneas was just two years old and Eilish was just born.

"I think it's hilarious. Because that came out, and it was like, 'Oh, Billie is a nepo baby'," she said. "And I'm like, 'Did you know that I got that episode of Friends because I was about to lose my health insurance?'"

Baird revealed in the interview that she and her husband, Patrick O'Connell, are working-class actors who made ends meet while prioritizing quality time with their kids. The mom-of-two emphasized that their children now enjoy opportunities that were beyond their reach in the past.

"The industry is primarily people like us or even people not even like us who couldn't even do that. So when all of this happened to our kids, we'd never been on that side of it," she added.

Throughout the 1980s to the 2010s, Baird graced screens with her presence in popular shows, such as "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The X-Files," "The West Wing," and "Charmed."

Despite not landing lead roles, she explained, "I think that 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," Baird added.

In 2012, Baird went on a personal venture to produce an original movie called "Life Inside Out." She worked with Finneas and was able to successfully financed the project through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.

"I wanted to show my kids that you could make something happen," she said. "You don't have to wait for somebody to say yes to you. You can just make it happen."

Baird believes that the initiative, although perhaps not directly responsible for her children's success, was important for demonstrating a proactive approach to creativity.

She added, "As you are hoping your children go much farther than you, you still have your own life. You can still do; you can create. It's equally important."

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Billie Eilish, FINNEAS