Madison Bailey Bio
Madison Lilly Bailey (born January 29, 1999) is an American actress who rose to prominence for portraying Kiara “Kie” Carrera on the Netflix mystery drama series Outer Banks. Bailey began pursuing acting and modeling as a teenager and made her professional screen debut in 2015 with appearances on network television series; she has since built a profile as a television performer with recurring roles in genre series and a leading role on a global streaming series.
Early Life and Background
Madison Lilly Bailey was born in Kernersville, North Carolina, and was raised there by adoptive parents. She grew up with six older siblings, three brothers and three sisters, and sources indicate that several of her siblings were also adopted through foster care. Bailey has described her upbringing in a predominantly white community and household and has spoken publicly about how that shaped elements of her identity.
Bailey is of Mauritian and Italian descent, a part of her background she has referenced in interviews about representation and belonging. She attended East Forsyth High School in Kernersville and decided in her mid-teens to pursue work in entertainment; early ambitions included singing, but she shifted to acting and modeling after experiencing stage fright while performing vocally.
Path to Celebrity
Bailey moved from local performance ambitions to professional auditions and modeling work beginning around age 15. Her decision to focus on acting and modeling led to early credits on established television series and to recurring work that expanded her visibility within the industry. She worked on roles that showcased a range of tones from procedural drama to genre television and gradually secured parts with greater scope and recurring status.
Her pathway to wider recognition combined guest and recurring television work with commercial and modeling engagements, including advertising campaigns where she was visible in beauty marketing. That cross-over of acting and modeling helped her cultivate a public profile prior to her lead-role breakthrough on a major streaming drama.
Madison Bailey Career
Early Career (2015–2018)
Bailey launched her screen career in 2015 with appearances on episodic television. Early credits include roles on the series Mr. Mercedes and Constantine, each of which provided her with professional on-set experience and exposure to television production. These initial work credits established her as a young actor working steadily in scripted television and opened opportunities for more substantial recurring roles.
Following those first appearances, Bailey won a recurring cast role on the CW superhero drama Black Lightning. In that series she was cast as Wendy Hernandez, a teenage metahuman whose abilities center on manipulating air. She played the role across two seasons, a part that allowed her to explore genre material, stunt choreography, and character development across multiple episodes.
Breakthrough (2018–present)
Bailey’s breakthrough came with her casting in the Netflix original series Outer Banks, which premiered in 2020. On Outer Banks she portrays Kiara “Kie” Carrera, a central member of the young ensemble cast. The show elevated Bailey to international recognition through the global reach of the streaming platform and positioned her as a leading presence in a teen-driven mystery-adventure series that delivered widespread audience attention.
Her role on Outer Banks marked a transition from recurring and guest parts to a primary series regular role, expanding both the scale of her screen time and her profile among viewers. The visibility from the series led to increased public recognition and greater media coverage of her work and public life, while she continued to be credited for her earlier genre work on series such as Black Lightning.
Notable Works and Milestones
Madison Bailey’s most widely recognized work is her role as Kiara “Kie” Carrera on Netflix’s Outer Banks, which began in 2020 and remains her signature screen performance to date. Her casting as Wendy Hernandez on Black Lightning and her early television appearances in Mr. Mercedes and Constantine are verifiable milestones that map her progression from guest actor to recurring performer and then to lead series regular.
Madison Bailey Family
Bailey was raised in Kernersville, North Carolina, by adoptive parents and grew up with six older siblings. Reports indicate that five of her siblings were also adopted through foster care, reflecting a family background with multiple adopted siblings. Her mother died in 2018, an event Bailey has acknowledged publicly and commemorated with tattoos shared with two of her sisters.
Personal Life
Bailey has been open about aspects of her personal life that she has discussed in public interviews. She came out as pansexual in 2017 and was publicly in a relationship with retired basketball player Mariah Linney from 2020 to 2025, a partnership that has been described in press coverage and biographical summaries. Bailey has also discussed mental health publicly; she has stated that she received a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder around the age of 18.
Outside of acting, Bailey has pursued modeling and beauty work, appearing in advertising campaigns for beauty brands and noting an interest in doing her own makeup. Her public persona has included both performance work and commercial modeling assignments. Biographical details that are part of the public record include her height, listed at 173 centimeters, and her ongoing identification as an actress working primarily in television.
Madison Lilly Bailey’s trajectory shows a steady progression from adolescent ambition to professional screen work, with early television credits leading to recurring roles and a breakout series regular role on a major global streaming platform. Her public statements on identity, family background, and mental health form part of her public profile alongside her acting work.