Busy Philipps says daughter Birdie no longer uses they/them pronouns

‘Freaks and Geeks’ star shared in 2021 her daughter is gay and uses they/them pronouns

Busy Philipps has shared that her daughter Birdie no longer uses they/them pronouns.

The Mean Girls actor, 44, recently revealed that her 15-year-old daughter is once again using she/her pronouns. Speaking to Page Six at the 2023 American Museum of Natural History Gala on 30 November, Philipps said: “The truth is Birdie has decided that her pronouns are she/her.”

Back in 2021, the Freaks and Geeks alum shared that her then 12-year-old child is gay and uses they/them pronouns. In an episode of her podcast, Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best, the actor explained that Birdie first spoke about her sexuality when she was 10 years old.

“For those of you who are my friends listening at home, this is the first you’re hearing that Birdie is gay and out,” Philipps said at the time. “Birdie told us at 10 years old and we immediately... I mean obviously, I knew that Birdie knew.”

During the podcast, the White Chicks star admitted she had avoided publicly discussing the topic to protect Birdie’s privacy. While Birdie gave her mother permission to speak openly about her identity, Philipps acknowledged that she still struggles when it comes to using her daughter’s correct pronouns.

“I said: ‘You know, Bird, I’ve been doing a bad job with the pronouns,’” Philipps recalled. “Because Birdie said that they would like their pronouns to be they/them, and I haven’t been doing it, and I said because I have this public persona and I want Birdie to be in control of their own narrative and not have to answer to anybody outside of our friends and family if they don’t want to.

“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,’” she recalled her daughter saying, before admitting about herself: “I f*** up sometimes, but I’m trying my best at that, too.”

In addition to daughter Birdie Leigh, Philipps shares 10-year-old daughter Cricket Pearl with ex-husband Marc Silverstein. In May 2022, the Cougar Town star revealed that she and Silverstein have been separated since February 2021 but contemplated how they’d publicly share their decision to divorce with the rest of the world.

“It’s been a really long time that Marc and I have been separated,” she explained on her podcast. “Our kids know, our families know, our friends know, and we really discussed how we handle it publicly.”

She continued: “The truth is there’s a conventional idea of what a person in the public eye is supposed to do when their relationship ends. It’s been very well established, right? You make a statement, you’re committed to remaining friends, ‘please respect our privacy and our family’s privacy in this time.’ But the truth is, who made that rule up?”

Philipps said the thought of releasing a statement about their separation made both her and Silverstein feel “truly ill”. She added that “you can only do what’s right for you and your family, whether or not you have a public-facing life” and “you don’t have to follow a conventional idea just because it’s been done before”. The former couple ultimately decided the best way to “ensure the privacy” of their children was by not involving the public when they first separated.

“We’re not fully processed, Marc and I. But we are in a place where we’ve had many conversations, and therapy talks and all of these things where we decided that it felt like it’s an okay time for me to at least say it on this podcast,” Philipps added. “We love each other very much. We have these beautiful kids together and there are a lot of things that really work about our relationship.”

Philipps and Silverstein were married in 2007. She previously revealed in her memoir, This Will Only Hurt a Little, that she had asked her husband for a divorce in 2016. In an interview with Parents, Philipps cited Silverstein’s lack of involvement in parenting their two children as the reason why they almost split.