Billie Eilish’s Mother Maggie Baird Pushes Back on ‘Nepo Baby’ Label: “We Were Working-Class Actors”

In an industry quick to label rising stars as “nepo babies,” Maggie Baird—the mother of Grammy-winning sensation Billie Eilish—has stepped forward to set the record straight. Speaking to Glamour after a clip resurfaced of her 2001 Friends cameo as a casting director, Baird laughed off the idea that her daughter’s meteoric rise was fueled by industry privilege.

“I think it’s hilarious,” she said, explaining that she took the one-off Friends role simply to keep her health insurance. Far from being Hollywood insiders, Baird and her husband, actor Patrick O’Connell, were “working-class actors” scraping together a living through small TV roles, theater work, and side jobs—hardly the stuff of A-list connections.

“We Eeked Out a Meager Living”

Baird’s perspective comes from decades of firsthand experience navigating the precarious world of acting. With credits in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Six Feet Under, she knows that most performers work far from the spotlight.

“My husband and I are working-class actors,” she said. “We eked out a meager living, and it afforded us a lot of time with our kids, which was awesome.”

That time proved essential in fostering Billie and her brother Finneas’s creativity—both of whom would go on to find international success through music they developed independently at home. Baird emphasized that their modest careers provided no elite industry shortcuts, instead offering a grounded upbringing that valued passion over prestige.

Empathy for Struggling Creatives

Baird’s defense of her daughter is also an acknowledgment of the broader reality for countless working artists. “We didn’t have money, we didn’t own a house, we worked all the time,” she recalled, highlighting the financial precarity many creative families face.

Her empathy extends beyond her own children, recognizing the quiet dedication of parents who make sacrifices—like homeschooling or driving long hours to lessons—to help their kids pursue their dreams. By treating the “nepo baby” label with humor rather than defensiveness, Baird reframed the conversation to honor perseverance over privilege.

Staying Grounded in Success

Even as Billie Eilish became one of the world’s most recognizable music stars, Baird insists the family dynamic hasn’t changed dramatically. “We’re very normal,” she said, underscoring her commitment to authenticity over image.

Her willingness to share unvarnished truths—like the fact that her Friends appearance came out of financial necessity—cuts against Hollywood’s tendency toward self-mythologizing. In doing so, she redirects credit for Billie’s success away from any supposed industry leverage and toward the years of hard work and creative focus that fueled it.

More Than a Defense

Maggie Baird’s comments do more than counter a viral narrative. They shine a light on the unseen labor of working-class creatives, on the sacrifices made quietly in living rooms and rehearsal spaces far from red carpets.

By championing truth and empathy in her defense of Billie, Baird not only dismantles a misconception but also uplifts the stories of countless other artists whose journeys are built on resilience, not connections. As she proves, the most powerful narratives aren’t about inherited fame—they’re about the grit it takes to carve out a place in the world, one hard-earned step at a time.