Madison Lilly Bailey was born on January 29, 1999, in Kernersville, North Carolina. She is an American actress best known for playing Kiara Carrera on the Netflix teen drama Outer Banks.
Bailey has also built a growing music career since signing a recording deal in 2024.
Who is Madison Bailey?
Madison Bailey is an American actress and singer who rose to fame playing Kiara Carrera in Netflix’s Outer Banks. The series ran from 2020 until its final season in 2026.
Bailey has also appeared in Black Lightning, Creepshow, and American Horror Stories.
Beyond acting, she has become known for speaking openly about her mental health and her identity as a pansexual woman, using her platform to discuss both topics with fans.
That openness has made her one of the more recognizable young voices in her generation of Netflix stars.
Early Life of Madison Bailey
Madison Bailey was born in Kernersville, North Carolina, and was raised there by her adoptive parents. She has six older siblings, three brothers and three sisters, five of whom were also adopted through foster care.
She attended East Forsyth High School in Kernersville.
Bailey originally wanted to be a singer, but stage fright while performing in front of audiences pushed her toward acting and modeling around age 15.
Her mother, Mary Katherine Bailey, passed away in August 2018, and Madison has since gotten a tattoo in her memory alongside two of her sisters.
Madison Bailey Age
Madison Bailey is 27 years old as of 2026, born on January 29, 1999. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius.
By her late twenties, she had already spent more than a decade acting professionally and had begun a parallel career in music.
Madison Bailey Ethnicity and Nationality
Madison Bailey holds American nationality, having been born and raised in North Carolina. Her ethnic background is Mauritian and Italian, and she has spoken about growing up in a predominantly white household and community.
She has openly discussed how being adopted into a multiracial family shaped her outlook.
Her adoptive parents raised her alongside six siblings in Kernersville before she moved to pursue acting.
Madison Bailey Height and Weight
Madison Bailey stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, which equals approximately 173 centimeters. Her exact current weight has not been publicly confirmed through reliable sources.
She has an athletic build and played soccer during high school before shifting her focus toward acting.
Madison Bailey Education
Madison Bailey attended East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, North Carolina. She originally pursued singing as a teenager but moved toward acting and modeling around age 15 after experiencing stage fright.
She has not publicly confirmed attending a college or university, instead moving directly into professional acting work.
Madison Bailey Career
Madison Bailey has built a career spanning television, film, and more recently music, over more than a decade in the entertainment industry.
Her work ranges from early supporting television roles to her long-running lead part on Outer Banks.
Early Career
Bailey began her professional acting career in 2015, appearing in the NBC series Constantine and the horror thriller Swamp Murders that same year. She continued building credits with Mr. Mercedes in 2017, and Murder Chose Me the same year.
In 2018, she landed the recurring role of Wendy Hernandez, a teenage metahuman with the power to manipulate air, on The CW’s Black Lightning.
She played that character across two seasons, through 2019, before moving into other television and film work, including a 2019 appearance in the horror anthology series Creepshow.
Outer Banks and Breakthrough
Bailey’s defining role came in April 2020, when Netflix’s Outer Banks premiered with her as Kiara “Kie” Carrera, one of the show’s four central Pogues. The mystery drama, created by Jonas Pate, became a global streaming hit.
Across its run, Outer Banks spent a total of 27 weeks in Netflix’s global Top 10.
Bailey has said the show’s North Carolina setting reflected her own upbringing, describing the class divide between the Pogues and Kooks as something she recognized from her own hometown.
Her performance helped earn her a spot on Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood list in 2020.
Recent Work
Outer Banks ran for five seasons before concluding in 2026, giving Bailey 50 episodes as Kiara across its full run. Alongside the show, she took on film roles including the 2024 Netflix slasher Time Cut, in which she played Lucy, and the 2024 thriller The Painter.
In October 2025, she starred as Izzy in Maintenance Required, an Amazon MGM Studios romantic comedy alongside Madelaine Petsch, Jacob Scipio, and Katy O’Brian, which premiered on Prime Video on October 8, 2025.
Bailey has also stepped into music, debuting the acoustic single “The Grey” in 2024, followed by “Honestly.” She has described her sound as a blend of Kacey Musgraves and SZA, drawing from jazz, country, and rock influences.
Madison Bailey Filmography
- Constantine (2015)
- Swamp Murders (2015)
- Mr. Mercedes (2017)
- Murder Chose Me (2017)
- Black Lightning (2018 to 2019) as Wendy Hernandez
- Creepshow (2019) as Carla
- Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)
- Council of Dads (2020) as Jules
- Outer Banks (2020 to 2026) as Kiara Carrera
- American Horror Stories (2021) as Kelley
- Supercool (2021) as Emily
- Time Cut (2024) as Lucy
- The Painter (2024) as Sophia
- Maintenance Required (2025) as Izzy
Madison Bailey Awards and Recognition
Bailey earned a spot on Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood list in 2020 for her work as Kiara on Outer Banks. That recognition came during the show’s first season, as it became one of Netflix’s breakout hits of the year.
Her continued presence on the series through its five-season run has kept her among the more visible young actresses to emerge from streaming television.
Madison Bailey Girlfriend
Madison Bailey came out as pansexual in 2017 and has spoken openly about her sexuality in interviews since.
From 2020 to 2025, she was in a relationship with Mariah Linney, a former University of North Carolina at Charlotte basketball player, whom she met through TikTok.
The couple’s relationship became public in 2020 after Linney posted a video about Bailey on the app.
Speculation about a breakup emerged in 2025 after fans noticed the pair had stopped following each other on Instagram. Bailey’s current relationship status has not been publicly confirmed.
Madison Bailey Net Worth
Madison Bailey’s estimated net worth is $1.5 million as of 2026.
Her income comes primarily from her acting career, including her long-running role on Outer Banks and film work such as Maintenance Required and Time Cut.
Her growing music career, including her singles released through a recording deal, adds another income stream alongside her acting work. Brand partnerships and her large social media following also contribute to her earnings.
Madison Bailey Social Media
Madison Bailey is active across Instagram and TikTok, where she shares updates on her acting and music projects.
- Instagram: @madisonbaileybabe
- TikTok: @madsbaileybabe
She does not maintain public Twitter or Snapchat accounts.
The Bottom Line
Madison Bailey’s breakout role as Kiara Carrera on Netflix’s Outer Banks, which ran from 2020 to 2026, made her one of streaming television’s most recognized young actresses. The show helped her earn a spot on Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood list in 2020.
Raised by adoptive parents in Kernersville, North Carolina, she has spoken openly about her mental health and her identity as a pansexual woman throughout her career. She lost her mother in 2018 and has honored her memory with a tattoo shared with two of her sisters.
She most recently starred in the Amazon MGM romantic comedy Maintenance Required, released in October 2025, and continues building a parallel career in music following her 2024 debut single “The Grey.”
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