Busy Philipps' Child Birdie Lands Non-Binary Acting Role
Busy Philipps’ firstborn has landed a major acting gig
Busy Philipps is one proud mama! Philipps’ oldest child, 12-year-old Birdie, is following in Busy’s famous footsteps with a brand new TV role — one that also honors their non-binary identity.
Birdie, who uses they/them pronounces, will star in an upcoming Amazon series called With Love. In the recurring role, Birdie will portray a character who is also non-binary, which is a win/win for authentic representation.
Showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett (who was also at the helm of the One Day at a Time reboot) announced the exciting casting news on Twitter. “I first met Birdie when they were a baby. It is thrilling that I now get to have them on my little show,” Kellett wrote. Busy was also rejoicing, saying “This just made me cry.”
Fans also joined in the celebration. “That is amazing! Can’t wait to see Birdie on screen they will shine and help so many others at the same time,” one wrote. “Congrats to Birdie! Representation is so important. What an incredible opportunity for them to be that representation for other youth at their age,” another said.
Though not every child gets the kind of support that Birdie has received from their family, the upcoming role could certainly help educate more people about what it means to be non-binary and queer at any age. Busy revealed that she got permission from Birdie to talk about them on her podcast for that very reason.
“Bird was like, ‘I don’t give a f—. You can talk about how I’m gay and out; you can talk about my pronouns. That would be cool with me. That’s great.’ So I said, ‘Okay, I can talk about it on the podcast.'”
Philipps revealed in an interview with Health magazine that even some members of their own family needed a little help understanding Birdie’s identity. “My mom is older and wants to understand the pronoun conversation more. There are some really good books out there — like What’s Your Pronoun? Beyond He & She by Dennis Baron. I said to my mother, ‘Here’s the deal: You don’t have to understand it.’ That’s how I feel about all human rights—you don’t have to understand it. You can choose to believe what you want, but you don’t get to have jurisdiction over anyone else’s body or belief system.”
As proud as Busy is about her kiddo’s acting gig — it’s clear that what she’s most proud of is Birdie’s ability to be their truest self.
