Billie Eilish: Get to know the 'Happier Than Ever' singer

Billie Eilish is one of the most impressive young singer-songwriters of her generation. Breaking records left, right and centre, she's achieved a whole lot throughout her career so far - and fans are continually excited to see where she takes things next.

From her contributions to the world of film with her songs for James Bond and the iconic Barbie movie, she took things up a notch with her third album, 'Hit Me Hard and Soft' - heading on a worldwide tour AND releasing a 3D concert film in cinemas.

With a fast-filling trophy cabinet including plenty of GRAMMY Awards, many of which she's won with her brother and longtime collaborator Finneas, she's come a long way since she shot to fame in 2015 with hits like 'Bury A Friend' and 'Ocean Eyes'. Here’s everything you need to know about Billie Eilish...

What is Billie Eilish's real name?

It really is Billie Eilish! Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell.

How old is she?

Billie's birthday is 18th December 2001, making her currently 24-years-old and a Sagittarius. ♐️

Where is she from?

She was born in LA in the US, growing up in the Highland Park area, and is of Scottish and Irish descent through her parents - actress and screenwriter Maggie Baird and actor Patrick O'Connell. This had many fans questioning 'Is Billie Eilish British?', but she is not - although she says she "loves Brits".

Hits Radio caught up with Billie at the UK premiere of her concert film where she talks about her favourite 'Britishisms'.

Billie Eilish's brother

Billie's brother, Finneas, is a songwriter, and has worked with his sister on many of her biggest tracks - including her breakthrough song 'Bad Guy' as well as the James Bond soundtrack, 'No Time To Die'. He's also worked with Camila Cabello, Selena Gomez and John Legend, and appeared in four episodes of Glee in 2015 as Alistair.

In 2023, Finneas and Billie wrote 'What I Was Made For' together, which was performed by Billie and was nominated for a Golden Globe, in addition to winning the GRAMMY Awards for Song of the Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media in 2024.

In 2019, Finneas took the record label AWAL on a tour of the family home. He revealed the house has just two bedrooms, so in order to allow the children to have a room each, Billie and Finneas' parents would sleep in the living room on a futon. He then took the camera crew to his bedroom, showing where he and Billie wrote their hit songs.

How did Billie Eilish become famous?

Billie was meant for stardom, being born into a musical and semi-famous family. She was homeschooled by her mum, who also taught her and Finneas how to write songs, and the pair began making music together when she was around 11, writing a song about The Walking Dead - her fave telly show at the time.

Finneas wrote a song called 'Ocean Eyes' in 2015 for his band the Slightly's, soon realising that Billie would be a better fit - and after her dancing career unfortunately ended early due to an injury, she recorded the song and put a music video on her YouTube channel.

She also worked with Finneas on her second single 'Six Feet Under' in 2016, and her mum directed and edited the music video - a proper family affair! After hearing 'Ocean Eyes', Billie was signed to Darkroom and Interscope Records.

Billie released various songs and music videos throughout the next couple of years and went on tour in October 2017, with a second headline tour following in February 2018. Releasing her debut album 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' in March 2019, 'Bad Guy' became a worldwide hit.

READ MORE: Billie Eilish's career story so far 🎶

Is Billie Eilish a dancer?

She's known worldwide as a multi-award winning singer, however Billie started out as a dancer. In fact it was how her song 'Ocean Eyes' first became known. Back in November 2016, Billie was asked if she wanted to write a song for her dance teacher to choreograph a dance to.

Instead of writing a brand new song, Finneas and Billie recorded 'Ocean Eyes', which he had already written for his band. The song was uploaded to Soundcloud for the dance teacher Fred Diaz to listen to - but before he even had a chance to do the choreography, the song 'blew up' online! A year later it was released officially.

Both Billie and Finneas took dance lessons at Revolution Dance for many years, and as their former dance teacher told LA Times: "It happened really fast. One minute, it was a song she was going to dance to, and the next..."

Unfortunately for Billie, due to a hip injury she was unable to perform to her own song, but it wasn't long before she became famous for her singing.

New music

She has not released any new music in 2026. In 2025, Billie released two songs from her third album 'Hit Me Hard and Soft' - 'Chihiro' and 'Wildflower'. Both songs were Top 10 hits in the UK.

READ MORE: What are the meanings behind the lyrics of Billie Eilish's biggest songs?

When is Billie next on tour?

She doesn't have any upcoming tours announced at the moment. Billie brought her 'Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour' to the UK in July 2025. The tour was turned into a concert film directed by esteemed filmmaker James Cameron and was released in cinemas in May 2026.

How many albums has she released?

Billie has released three studio albums and two EPs, read up about them below.

'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'

Billie's debut album 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' was released on 29th March 2019, with a lot of the album being co-written with her brother Finneas, who also produced the record. It featured the singles 'You Should See Me in a Crown', 'When the Party's Over', 'Bad Guy' and 'All the Good Girls Go to Hell'.

Billie Eilish's album 'Happier Than Ever'

After the release of her epic debut album 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' in 2019, fans were keen to hear what the singer has in store for us all next. Billie kept the details of her second album pretty quiet for a while, but finally released the record 'Happier Than Ever' on Friday 30th July 2021.

After teasing that something new was coming our way, sharing an image of her new blonde locks on her Instagram and simply writing: 'things are comingggg' (sic), fans were delighted when just one week later we all received a 15-second snippet of her single 'Happier Than Ever'.

Fans were then over the moon when just one day later (27th April), the singer announced that her second album was in fact called 'Happier Than Ever', and was going to be released on 30th July 2021.

Billie released singles 'My Future', 'Lost Cause', Your Power', 'Your Power' and 'NDA' ahead of the album's release.

The album also saw her head on her 'Happier Than Ever, The World Tour', where Billie travelled around arenas in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe from February to September 2022.

'Hit Me Hard and Soft'

Billie Eilish released her third album 'Hit Me Hard and Soft' in May 2024 and since its release it has gone 2x Platinum in the UK and it's been nominated for both BRIT Awards and GRAMMYs. Not only that, but the album was supported by a huge tour, which has now been turned into a concert film.

'Don't Smile At Me' (EP)

Despite being classed as an EP, 'Don't Smile At Me' featured a massive 11 songs on the UK version. The EP was released in 2017 and featured her songs 'Ocean Eyes', 'Bellyache' and 'Idontwannabeyouanymore'.

Billie Eilish 'Guitar Songs' (EP)

Billie surprised fans in July 2022 with the release of a two-song collection called 'Guitar Songs'. The collection featured 'The 30th' and 'TV', which she debuted on tour in Manchester.

'No Time To Die'

Billie was announced as the singer behind a Bond soundtrack in January 2020, becoming the youngest artist to write and perform a James Bond theme song. Co-writing it with Finneas and film soundtrack master, Hans Zimmer, it was released a month later.

The song debuted at Number 1 in the UK, giving Billie her first UK Number 1 single - and making her the first artist born in the 21st century to top the chart. She performed the song at the BRIT Awards 2020, where she won International Female Solo Artist.

After a number of postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 25th James Bond movie 'No Time To Die' was finally released in UK cinemas on Thursday 30th September 2020.

WATCH: Billie Eilish - 'No Time To Die' (Live From The BRIT Awards, London):

Billie Eilish: Awards

The BRIT Awards

• International Female Solo Artist (2020)
• International Female Solo Artist (2021)
• International Artist of the Year (2022)
• Song of the Year - 'Guess' with Charli XCX (2025)

GRAMMY Awards

At the 2026 GRAMMYs, Billie had a standout night thanks to ‘Wildflower’, which not only won Song of the Year but also earned her a Record of the Year nomination - marking the third time she and brother Finneas have taken home the Song of the Year trophy. It also makes them the first artists in history to win the category three times. See all of her GRAMMY wins below.

• Best New Artist (2020)
• Album of the Year - 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' (2020)
• Best Pop Vocal Album - 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' (2020)
• Record of the Year - 'Bad Guy' (2020)
• Song of the Year - 'Bad Guy' (2020)
• Record of the Year - 'Everything I Wanted' (2021)
• Best Song Written - Visual Media for 'No Time to Die' (2021)
• Song of the Year - 'What Was I Made For?' (2024)
• Best Song Written For Visual Media - 'What Was I Made For?' (2024)
• Song of the Year - 'Wildflower' (2026)

MTV Europe Music Awards

• Best Song - 'Bad Guy' (2019)
• Best New Act (2019)
• Video For Good - 'Your Power' (2021)
• Best US Act (2022)
• Best Pop (2023)

Academy Awards

• Best Original Song - 'No Time To Die' (2022)
• Best Original Song - 'What Was I Made For?' (2024)

Golden Globes

• Best Original Song - 'No Time To Die' (2022)
• Best Original Song - 'What Was I Made For?' (2024)

Billie Eilish's hair

Billie Eilish has made bold hair transformations a part of her image for many years. After becoming known for her iconic black hair with neon green roots in 2019, she surprised fans in March 2021 by switching to a softer, fully blonde look.

Later in 2021, Billie changed her look again, this time going dark brunette, a style she kept through the 2022 Met Gala and much of her tour. Then in August 2023, she returned to a bolder style, unveiling red-and-black hair on Instagram—a striking update to her 2019 look, this time swapping the signature green roots for vivid red.

In 2026, as she's been heading out to promote her new concert film, the singer has returned to a natural brown colour.

What is Overheated?

Overheated is not only the name of one of Billie's songs, but it also became the name of a climate-focused event, first held in London in 2022. The event returned in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The events brought together climate activists, musicians and designers to discuss the climate crisis.

Has Billie Eilish been on any TV shows?

Throughout her career, Billie has appeared on numerous talk shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live on 13th October 2021, where Jimmy Kimmel helped the singer tick items off her bucket list, including giving someone a haircut, getting a pet mouse, and punching someone!

Sesame Street

The 'Therefore I Am' singer had the honour of appearing on the educational children's show Sesame Street, which has previously seen cameos from stars such as Katy Perry, John Legend and Jason Derulo.

The show aired its 52nd season on 11th November 2021, with Billie appearing alongside a number of celebrity guests. Fans watched as the singer shared a scene with the much loved vampire Muppet Count von Count, as the pair sang a special rendition of her hit 'Happier Than Ever'.

WATCH: Billie Eilish appears on Sesame Street:

The Simpsons

In an episode titled When Billie Met Lisa, Billie appeared in The Simpsons as herself along with her brother Finneas, having a jam session with Lisa Simpson. The episode aired on Disney+ on 22nd April 2022.

Is Billie in a relationship?

Most recently, Billie has been linked to American actor Nat Wolff. The pair first sparked rumours in March 2025 after Page Six reported them as being "very affectionate". Then in July 2025, photos emerged in the publication Deuxmoi, of the duo kissing while visiting Italy. They also made their red carpet debut together at the premiere of her concert film in May 2026.

Previously, in October 2022, Billie was linked to The Neighbourhood singer Jesse Rutherford after the pair were spotted holding hands at Universal Studios. Billie and Jesse later made their relationship Instagram official in November 2022.

However, in May 2023 it was reported that the pair sadly parted ways. Speaking to Page Six, a spokesperson for Billie said: "We can confirm Billie and Jesse did split amicably and remain good friends."

Later that year, in November 2023, Billie came out in her Variety Power of Women cover story, saying she didn’t intend to make a grand gesture: "I kind of thought, ‘Wasn’t it obvious’? I didn’t realise people didn’t know. I just don’t really believe in it. I’m just like, ‘Why can’t we just exist’? I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops."

You can hear Billie Eilish's biggest songs on the Forth 1 playlist.

Take a look through Billie Eilish's amazing career:

You can hear Billie Eilish on the Forth 1 playlist.

Author: Emma Dodds

Emma Dodds is a Digital Content Editor across Bauer Media's Rayo brands, including the Hits Radio Network, Greatest Hits Radio, KISS, Cool FM and Magic Radio. With a focus on long-form features, Emma prefers digging into a topic and really uncovering a well-rounded view of an artist - using honed SEO skills to figure out the answers to the questions people are really interested in. She especially enjoys a deep dive on song meanings analysis and lyrics interpretation!

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