Madison Bailey

Madison Lilly Bailey is an American actress who gained widespread recognition for her role in the Netflix teen mystery drama series Outer Banks, which aired from 2020 to 2026.

Born on January 29, 1999, Bailey was raised in Kernersville, North Carolina, by her adoptive parents. She grew up in a large family alongside six older brothers and sisters, five of whom were also brought into the family through foster care adoption. Bailey, who is of Italian and Mauritian heritage, has discussed her experiences growing up in a predominantly white town and household. She completed her secondary education at East Forsyth High School in her hometown. Her mother passed away in 2018, an event she commemorated alongside two of her sisters with matching tattoos.

Initially aspiring to pursue a music career, Bailey shifted her focus to acting and modeling at the age of 15 due to experiencing stage fright while singing publicly. She made her professional acting debut in 2015 with television appearances on shows such as Constantine and Mr. Mercedes.

In 2018, Bailey secured a recurring role in the science fiction series Black Lightning on The CW. She portrayed Wendy Hernandez, a metahuman teenager capable of manipulating air, playing the character across two seasons of the show.

Bailey achieved a career breakthrough beginning in 2020 when she was cast as Kiara "Kie" Carrera, one of the main characters in the popular Netflix series Outer Banks.

Beyond her television work, Bailey has engaged in commercial modeling, including featuring in advertising campaigns for the cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, driven by her personal interest in doing her own makeup. In her personal life, she publicly came out as pansexual in 2017 and was in a relationship with former basketball player Mariah Linney from 2020 to 2025. She has also spoken openly about being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder when she was around 18 years old.