Just from her epic performances [1], it's pretty clear that Billie Eilish [2] is rad as hell. You can tell that she's a dyed in the wool artist based on her creepy music videos [3] and inventive lyrics [4]. But even outside of her work, Eilish definitely contains multitudes. She's loved for keeping things real with her devoted followers, above all else. Her frank Instagram posts [5] and interview responses reflect just that, often reminding us how she's both relatable and unique. Ahead, we've put together 10 interesting facts you might not know about the "Bad Guy" [6] singer, from her experience with synesthesia to her loud-and-proud Belieber roots [7].
She Likes to Wear Clothes "800 Sizes Bigger Than She Is"
Eilish enjoys wearing baggy clothes [8] (which she describes as "800 sizes bigger" than her) to express herself and side-step judgement from body shamers. "It kind of gives nobody the opportunity to judge what your body looks like [9]," she told Vogue Australia. That said, the singer has been adamant about not using her fashion choices to slut-shame other women [10] for wearing form-fitting clothes.
She Experiences Synesthesia
Eilish has synesthesia [11], a condition in which senses seem to blend together because of neurosensory wire-crossing. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said, "Every person I know has their own colour and shape and number in my head [12], but it's normal to me." Her song "Bad Guy" is, according to Eilish, is red, yellow, and the number seven.
She Has Tourette Syndrome
In 2018, the singer confirmed that she had Tourette Syndrome [13], a condition which causes a person to have involuntary tics. She specifically experiences physical tics as opposed to verbal ones. "I've taught myself ways of suppressing my tics and certain techniques to help [reduce] them when I don't want to be distracting in certain situations," she explained in an Instagram story.
She Still Lives at Home — But Is Close to Her Brother, Her Main Collaborator
The singer-songwriter is usually on tour, but when she's off-duty, she still lives at home. Her brother Finneas [14], who is her most frequent collaborator, recently moved out with his girlfriend, but lives close by [15]. While she's cautious about strangers following her, Eilish also savors her time at home and doesn't love being away from her friends for too long. "It's annoying," she told Rolling Stone. "I have this amazing thing in front of me, and I don't want to hate it. And I don't hate it. But I hate certain parts of it."
Eilish Grew Up a Vegetarian
Eilish grew up vegetarian [16] and officially switched to a vegan lifestyle [17] in 2014. Regarding her choice, she went to Tumblr to explain why she decided to go free of animal products in her diet. In 2018, she wrote on her blog [18], "i went vegan like four years ago. there were a lot of reasons. i love animals and i just think there's no point in creating something out of an animal when the animal is already there. leave animals alone. damn. also im lactose intolerant and dairy is horrible for your skin and my skin is VERY aware of that."
Eilish Is an Animal Lover and Used to Work With Horses
Eilish loves animals and used to be a horse camp counselor when she was younger for about two years. She worked in barns to afford riding lessons. She recently collaborated with Urban Outfitters [19] to donate money to Red Bucket Equine Rescue, an organisation that rehabilitates and rescues horses.
Like Much of the Internet, She Loves The Office
Eilish is a superfan of The Office [20], even putting quotes from the NBC show into her song "My Strange Addiction." She once got quizzed on the series by Rainn Wilson [21], aka Dwight Schrute. In this picture, she's posing with Angela Kinsey, who plays Angela from The Office.
Her Middle Name Is Pretty Cool
Billie Eilish [22] is a catchy stage name, that's for sure. But the singer's real, full name [23] is even cooler: Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell. Eilish revealed to BBC [24], "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."
She's Had Bieber Fever
Eilish grew up a huge fan of aughts pop artists, such as Lana Del Rey and Avril Lavigne [25]. One of her biggest celebrities of her childhood was none other than Justin Bieber, so you can bet that she was jazzed when they collaborated together on a remix of "Bad Guy." [26] The day the single dropped, she wrote on Instagram, "BAD GUY FEAT. JUSTIN BIEBER OUT NOWWW OMGFFFFGGG ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE MAN."
She Wrote Her First Song About...Zombies
Eilish started writing songs at age 11. Watching The Walking Dead [27] struck her with inspiration. "My first real song was about the zombie apocalypse actually [28], which is weird because it's out and nobody knows that that's what it's about," she told Harper's Bazaar. "It's called 'Fingers Crossed.' I literally just watched The Walking Dead [29] and I took little lines from it."