- Billie Eilish is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California.
- The musician writes some of her songs on her own, but creates many of them with her brother and collaborator Finneas O’Connell.
- Her full name Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell.
- Her hair is naturally blonde, though she’s debuted many hair colors over the years.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
You might have been seeing the name Billie Eilish often – and it’s not surprising considering she just won multiple Grammys and is about to embark on a world tour.
Even though the 18-year-old singer with the colorful hair and baggy clothes is taking pop music by storm, you may not know much about her yet.
Here are answers to 13 common questions you may have about Billie Elish.
Who is Billie Eilish?
Billie Eilish is an American singer-songwriter who first shot to prominence in 2016 when she uploaded her breakout hit “Ocean Eyes” to SoundCloud.
As Eilish told i-D, she made the song after her dance instructor asked her to record something that she and her fellow dancers could perform to. She worked with her brother, Finneas O'Connell, to record "Ocean Eyes," a song O'Connell had initially written for his band.
The song went viral and The Darkroom, an imprint of Interscope Records, later signed the young singer.
Since then, Eilish has gone on to release critical and commercial hits like "Bad Guy," "When the Party's Over," "You Should See Me in a Crown," and "Bury a Friend," to name a few.
Is Billie Eilish her real name?
Sort of. Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell.
"[Eilish] is my middle name," she explained in an interview with BBC. "So I'm Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell. Pretty weird, right? Pirate was going to be my middle name, but then my uncle had a problem with it because pirates are bad. Then Baird is my mother's name."
According to Rolling Stone, Eilish was supposed to be the singer's first name because her parents, Maggie Baird and Patrick O'Connell, once saw a documentary about conjoined twins named Katie and Eilish Holton and decided they liked the latter's name.
But, while Maggie was pregnant, her father, Bill, died - and her parents decided to name Billie after him instead.
The name Pirate is said to come from her brother, who was 4 years old when she was born, and insisted on calling her "Pirate."
How do you pronounce Billie Eilish?
Bill-ee Eye-lish. As Eilish explained, it's " like eyelash with a lish."
How old is Billie Eilish?
Eilish was born on December 18, 2001, making her 18 years old. Ahead of her 18th birthday, she told Jimmy Kimmel that she was most excited about turning 18 so she could drive her car after 11 p.m.
In California, where Eilish lives, drivers under the age of 18 cannot drive alone between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless they've had their licenses for 12 months or longer or are accompanied by a licensed driver who is age 25 or older.
"You have to either have had your license for a whole year or be 18, and I was so busy - I mean, my life was pretty crazy in the last couple years, so I got to it a little bit late, even though it's something I've literally wanted to do my entire life. All I ever wanted to do was drive," Eilish told the talk-show host.
What's Billie Eilish's zodiac sign?
Eilish is a Sagittarius, a sign that is said to consist of independent, strong-willed, and natural-born leaders who march to the beat of their own drum.
If Eilish had been born three days later, she would have been a Capricorn.
Where is Billie Eilish from?
Eilish is from the neighborhood of Highland Park, which is located in the northeast part of Los Angeles, California. She still lives there with her parents in the two-bedroom home she grew up in.
Her parents sleep in the living room so that she has her own room and a second bedroom to record music. That designated room is where she and brother recorded many of her hits, though he no longer lives at home.
Speaking about her California upbringing, Eilish has said there's a big misconception about being from LA.
"People just have a different vision of how I was raised and that's not correct. They think I'm just a little rich girl from LA," Eilish told NME.
She also told Coup de Main magazine that Highland Park "wasn't a great neighborhood" and her family moved there when it was affordable.
She explained that Highland Park is "kinda like a little hipster block party … it's really cute. It's very homely, very comfortable."
Who is Billie Eilish's brother?
Eilish's older brother is Finneas O'Connell. He's is a 22-year-old singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor (he appeared on three episodes of "Glee"), but he's best known as Eilish's main collaborator.
They write her music together, he produces, and, when Eilish goes on tour, he sometimes plays instruments, like bass, in her backing band.
He also performs as a solo artist under the name FINNEAS and has released several singles. His debut EP, "Blood Harmony," was released on October 4, 2019.
Eilish has also referred to her brother as her "best friend," and O'Connell told Vogue he and his sister "just love each other and are honest with each other, and we speak the same creative language."
How many albums does Billie Eilish have?
Eilish has one studio album, one live album, and one EP. She's also released a number of solo tracks and remixes over the years.
She released her debut EP "Don't Smile at Me," which included hits like "Ocean Eyes" and "Bellyache," in August 2017. The EP was a sleeper hit and peaked at no. 8, nearly two years after its release on January 26, 2019.
Eilish dropped her first studio album - "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" - on March 29, 2019.
She also recorded a live album at Third Man Records in Nashville, Tennessee, which resulted in the "Live at Third Man album," which she released on December 6, 2019.
Does Billie Eilish write her own songs?
She's written some of them on her own, though she's co-written many of them with O'Connell.
In an interview with Vogue, the musician explained that she has been writing songs since she was 11 years old and she's crafted many of them with her older brother.
In an interview with MTV, O'Connell even broke down the entire writing and production process that went into creating his sister's debut studio album.
How many Grammys does Billie Eilish have?
Eilish currently has five Grammy awards, all of which were won this year.
At this year's Grammys, she was nominated for six awards total and won best song and best record for "Bad Guy," best album and best pop vocal album for "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" She also won the best new artist award.
Eilish is currently the youngest person to ever win album of the year, a distinction previously held by Taylor Swift, who won the award for her 2008 album "Fearless" when she was just 20 years old.
What is Billie Eilish's real hair color?
Eilish is a natural blonde, which you can see if you look through old videos of the singer (and at childhood photos that have been shared by Eilish's mother).
But over the years, she's debuted a number of hair colors like blue, teal, purple, lilac, and platinum.
Eilish's hair is currently acid green with black streaks and, on her driver's license, her hair color is listed as "other."
Is Billie Eilish on tour?
She will be soon. Eilish launches her "Where Do We Go?" tour on March 9, in Miami, Florida, and will take the show all over the world until the final stop on September 7, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In an interview on "The Tonight Show," Eilish said that her tour is going to be as "green" and eco-friendly as possible.
"There's no plastic straws allowed, the fans are going to bring their own water bottles, there's going to be recycle cans everywhere," she explained.
There's also going to be a "Billie Eilish Eco-Village" at each tour stop where fans can learn about climate change and how to become more environmentally conscious.
Did Billie Eilish make the theme song for the new James Bond movie?
Yes. Eilish and her brother were tapped to write and record the theme song for the 25th James Bond film, "No Time to Die," and the haunting lullaby - also called "No Time To Die" - was released on February 13.
"It feels crazy to be a part of this in every way," Eilish wrote on Twitter after her involvement in the film was announced. "To be able to score the theme song to a film that is part of such a legendary series is a huge honor."
Eilish performed the song live for the first time at the 2020 BRIT Awards on February 18.
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