Busy Philipps Explains Her Out Daughter Birdie's Pronoun Update

Back in 2021, Busy Philipps (Cougar Town, Freaks and Geeks), opened up about her daughter, Birdie, shifting from she/her into they/them pronouns.

On her podcast, Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best, she told listeners at the time, “For those of you who are my friends listening at home, this is the first you’re hearing that Birdie is gay and out. Birdie told us at 10 years old and we immediately… I mean obviously, I knew that Birdie knew.”

Busy said that Birdie had been out to her parents since she was 10, but that she’d avoided speaking about it publicly because she didn’t want Birdie to have to deal with the public’s opinion until she was ready.

Once Birdie gave her the go-ahead to discuss it, Busy admitted she had struggled with the pronoun change, but wanted to do her best after Birdie gave her permission to talk about it. “I f**k up sometimes, but I’m trying my best at that, too,” she said.

Now 15, Birdie, seems to have changed her mind. At the 2023 American Museum of Natural History Gala, Birdie told Page Six, “The truth is Birdie has decided that her pronouns are she/her” and that the reversal is “what’s so incredible about what gender-affirming care can be. That you allow kids to figure out who they are.”

Busy shares Birdie and 10-year-old Cricket with ex-husband Marc Silverstein, whom she separated from in 2021.

Moving forward, Busy is set to hit the big screen as Regina George’s mother in the highly anticipated Broadway musical film adaptation ofMean Girls,scheduled for release on January 12, 2024.