It has been an interesting journey to fame for Madison Bailey since her first outing in 2015. She appeared in several minor roles in her budding days before her breakthrough, five years into her acting career. Bailey is widely known for her performance on Outer Banks, a Netflix teen drama series that premiered in 2020. The show takes credit for the fame she now enjoys, opening up new opportunities for the young actress. Before Outer Banks, Bailey gained minor recognition as a cast member on Black Lightning.
Growing up, Madison Bailey had an interest in music, but she couldn’t pursue it due to stage fright. As such, she switched to acting, which proved to be right up her alley. However, she plays the ukulele, and her love for music is not dead. The Outer Banks star is one of the few celebrities opening up about their struggles with borderline personality disorder (BPD), using their platforms to spread awareness about it. There’s more to learn about the young actress as her journey to the top continues.
Madison Bailey Has African and Italian Roots
Named Madison Lilly Bailey, the actress was born on January 29, 1999, in Kernersville, North Carolina, where she was raised. Her biological parents are not publicly known, but she has Mauritian and Italian ancestry. Bailey grew up with her adoptive parents. The youngest in a family of nine, Bailey spent her childhood with six older siblings (three sisters and three brothers), five of whom were also adopted.
Madison Bailey grew up in a predominantly white household and community and attended East Forsyth High School in Kernersville. She had stability in her formative years, thanks to her loving family. She lost her mom in 2018 and got a tattoo in her memory alongside two of her sisters. One of her sisters has appeared as her stunt double on Outer Banks.
She Got Her First Acting Role on the TV Shows Constantine and Swamp Murders
Before acting took center stage in her career, Madison Bailey aspired to be a singer. However, she suffered stage fright while performing in public and decided to switch to acting and modelling. She has appeared in advert campaigns for Fenty Beauty. Her debut acting role came in 2015 when she guest starred as Caroline on NBC’s Constantine, based on the titular character from the DC Comics. She followed it up with another guest appearance on Swamp Murders the same year.
In 2017, Bailey was cast as Chloe on one episode of Mr. Mercedes and Angela Henry on Murder Chose Me. She got her first major television role in 2018 when she joined the cast of Black Lightning as Wendy Hernandez. Her character on the CW science fiction show is a teenage metahuman with special abilities that give her control of the air. She also appeared on the pilot episode of Two Roads as Zoe in 2018.
After Black Lightning, Bailey appeared as a guest on Creepshow in 2019. Her breakthrough came in 2020 when she was cast in two TV shows – Council of Dads and her most recognized role as Kiara “Kie” Carrera on Outer Banks. She has been a main cast member on the latter since 2020, and the Netflix mystery drama takes credit for her rise to fame. Bailey appeared on American Horror Stories in 2021, portraying Kelley in the episode “Drive In.”
A Look at Madison Bailey’s Film Credits
The Outer Banks star made her film debut in 2017’s Fist Fight in an uncredited role as a high schooler. Her next film roles were in Bottle Girl (2018) and Discarded Things (2020). She also starred in Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020) as a bowling alley girl alongside Brian Quinn, James Murray, and Sal Vulcano. Bailey has played more prominent film roles in recent times, including Supercool as Emily, The Painter as Sophia, and Time Cut as Lucy Field. She also co-produced the latter. The actress solidified her versatility in her performance as the delectable Izzy in Maintenance Required (2025).
Madison Bailey Has Been Open About Her Struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder
The Outer Banks actress was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder around the age of 18, and she has been living with it ever since. In June 2022, she told Katie Krause from Entertainment Tonight that getting diagnosed was a huge relief, as it helped her to get in touch with her feelings. Now, she can easily identify her triggers and deal with the stigma that comes with BPD accordingly. In 2017, Madison Bailey came out as pansexual. She dated retired basketball player Mariah Linney for five years (2020-2025).
