“Do you know me? Really know me?” Billie Eilish poses this question to her listeners in a spoken word piece from her 2021 album, *Happier Than Ever*. The interlude, “Not My Responsibility,” makes a powerful statement about the critical nature surrounding pop stardom and young womanhood. At just 21 years old, these concepts have trailed Eilish’s career since it first took off when she was 14. Despite the trials that fame has confronted her with, she has never shied away from a good fight.
From environmental activism to mental health advocacy, Eilish has used the harsh glare of the spotlight to champion causes important to her and her generational peers. With seven Grammy Awards and just two studio albums, the “Bad Guy” singer has solidified her voice as one representing a new generation. From bedroom pop to world tours, how did the teen go from somber SoundCloud beats to radio-dominating songs of the summer?
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell was born in 2001 in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in a cozy bungalow, where she still lived until moving out in 2021. Her childhood home, where she and her brother recorded her hits, remains a place of solace for Eilish, who still spends most nights there. It’s impossible to talk about her success without bringing family into the conversation. Eilish’s brilliant songwriting comes from a deep collaboration with her brother, Finneas O’Connell, known professionally as FINNEAS, who produces all of her music. Their parents, both actors, homeschooled them with a vision of musical success.
In a home studio located in her brother’s childhood room, Eilish and FINNEAS recorded their first hit together, “Ocean Eyes,” a harmonic, enchantingly bareboned ballad FINNEAS had originally written for his own band. The song quickly became an overnight hit and launched the then-14-year-old Eilish into immediate fame. Since then, Eilish has occupied a significant chunk of the internet, representing a trend of Gen-Z artists making names for themselves online from the corners of their bedrooms.
Her album, *Happier Than Ever*, released in July 2021, topped the Billboard charts at No. 1 for three weeks. The sophomore album is a departure from her former catchy beat-laden, lo-fi, trip-pop sound. But one thing hasn’t changed: Eilish isn’t holding back from speaking—and singing—about what’s been on her mind. The pop star revealed in an interview in 2022 that she and her brother are in the process of making the follow-up to *Happier Than Ever*.
In April 2020, she and FINNEAS joined Global Citizen’s historic global broadcast event One World: Together At Home, covering the song “Sunny” by Bobby Hebb and thanking frontline health care workers for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 22, Eilish is returning to the Global Citizen stage for Power Our Planet: Live in Paris, a first-of-its-kind event that will bring together artists, activists, and Global Citizens to defend our planet and call on world leaders to reform our financial system to ensure everyone is protected from the worst impacts of climate change and inequality.
From putting on eco-friendly, plastic-free shows to marching with Greta Thunberg to posting video campaigns to speak out about climate change, Eilish echoes the sentiments of many in her generation whose futures are at stake due to the current climate emergency. “Our earth is warming up and our oceans are rising. Extreme weather is wrecking millions of lives,” Eilish said, alongside Woody Harrelson, in a video message urging the public to address climate change.
In 2019, Eilish teamed up with Global Citizen in support of their campaign against climate change, offering free concert tickets to those who took action to defend the planet. Eilish, who grew up vegetarian, switched to veganism seven years ago. She often takes to her Instagram stories to promote animal rights and speak out against cruelty to her 109 million followers.
In 2022, Eilish teamed up with director Yassa Khan to produce the documentary *Overheated: A Climate Change Documentary*. The film, featuring Eilish and other young advocates, addressed the climate crisis and explored the human response to the emergency, both positive and negative, with a message of hope. Eilish also hosted a six-day climate action event named after the documentary, bringing together pop stars, fashion designers, activists, and thousands of attendees.
In 2023, in support of Earth Day, Eilish closed her online store and instead encouraged her fans to make a donation to GRID Alternatives—an eco-conscious nonprofit organization based in California—and Support And Feed, which seeks to combat food insecurity and the climate crisis. Earlier this year, Billie Eilish used her Vogue cover to highlight the importance of environmentalism, inviting a group of climate activists and educators to join her interview and video shoot.
During the interview, the star also discussed her own efforts to be green, including influencing the iconic fashion house, Oscar de la Renta, to eliminate animal fur from all future designs and partnering with the nonprofit Reverb to make her “Happier Than Ever” world tour more sustainable. Many of the activists who joined Eilish’s Vogue interview, including *It’s Not Just You* author Tori Tsui and Black Girl Environmentalist founder Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, were previously enlisted as speakers at Eilish’s 2022 climate conference *Overheated*.
Eilish is a fighter. Being thrown into the deep end of instant stardom and media scrutiny isn’t easy, especially at such a young age. But Eilish has never been afraid of calling out issues when she sees them. On the media’s obsession with her body, Eilish, who has discussed her negative body-image issues in the past, takes it in stride. “We only need bodies to eat and walk around and poop. We only need them to survive. It’s ridiculous that anybody even cares about bodies at all. Like, why?” she told the Guardian.
Baggy clothes have been an iconic part of the singer’s look since the beginning of her international rise to fame. Body positivity and autonomy, especially for women, is something Eilish has been continually vocal about. The publicity surrounding her body is the topic of multiple songs in her latest album. In an interview with Laura Snapes for British Vogue, Eilish clears up any misconceptions about her transition from loose-fitting clothes to corsets for the magazine cover. “It’s all about what makes you feel good. If you want to get surgery, go get surgery,” she said. “If you want to wear a dress that somebody thinks that you look too big wearing, fuck it—if you feel like you look good, you look good.”
Eilish is getting in touch with old Hollywood vibes, wiping away the black tears, and may even be happier than ever. Although the 2021 album details toxic relationships, personal and with the public, Eilish has used it to heal and become the figure of guidance she wished she had. “It’s about many, many different situations that I’ve witnessed. Some lines are about my life, some lines are about things that I’ve seen, some lines are just general things that I’ve noticed about women being taken advantage of. And it’s a crazy thing and I wish that when I was younger I had a song like this to listen to,” said Eilish in an interview with NPR when asked about the song “Your Power.”
Similar to several celebrities who in recent years have taken a break from social media to protect their mental health and well-being, Eilish revealed in March this year that she has also deleted social media apps off her phone after coming across hateful posts about herself that negatively impacted her mental health. Eilish has lived most of her formative years on the internet and taking a much-needed step back from social media was a “huge deal” for the singer. Eilish spoke about this during her interview with Conan O’Brien: “I deleted it all off my phone, which is such a huge deal for me. Cause, dude, you didn’t have the internet to grow up with.”
Eilish has always been open about her mental health. From discussing her experiences with Tourette’s syndrome to her battles with depression and suicidal thoughts, Eilish has never shied away from using her fame to combat stigmas. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish points to the summer of 2019 as the point in which she felt happier. She had ended a relationship, was on tour with her best friend and family, and had started seeing a therapist. “My mom was saying this yesterday. When you’re happier than ever, that doesn’t mean you’re the happiest that anyone’s ever been. It means you’re happier than you were before,” said Eilish.
On June 22, Billie is joining @glblctzn for Power Our Planet: Live in Paris, an event to mobilize financing to fight climate change. Take action to earn tickets for the event now.
Source: Global Citizen, The Guardian, NPR, Rolling Stone
