Billie Eilish's actress mother Maggie Baird has dismissed claims her children are "nepo babies".
Maggie has appeared in shows such as 'The X Files', 'Bones' and 'Six Feet Under' - while her husband Patrick O'Connell had roles in 'The West Wing' and 'Iron Man' and a clip of Maggie's role in hit sitcom 'Friends' recently sparked accusations Billie and her brother Finneas only found success in the music industry because their parents were actors.
However, Maggie is adamant the suggestion is just not true. She told Glamour magazine: "I think it’s hilarious. Because that [clip of 'Friends'] came out, and it was like, ‘Oh, Billie is a nepo baby.’ And I’m like, ‘Did you know that I got that episode of 'Friends' because I was about to lose my health insurance?'"
She went on to insist the couple never made it big in the acting world, but it meant they got to spend a lot of time with their kids when they were growing up.
Maggie added: "My husband and I are working class actors. We eked out a meagre living, and it afforded us a lot of time with our kids, which was awesome.
"But 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.
" 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."
Billie's brother Finneas previously insisted the siblings did not get an easy ride into showbusiness because of their parents' acting work,
In a post on X - previously known as Twitter - he wrote: "During my life time, our parents were never able to fully financially support us off of their work as actors.
"Our dad worked 12 hour days 7 days a week as a construction worker for Mattel and our mom was a teacher. Our parents gave us love but knew no one in the record industry.
"Anyone who saw us tour in 2019 knows our dad insists on sweeping the stage each night before we perform."
