In many ways, Madison Bailey's Kiara, or "Kie" is the beating heart at the center of
Netflix's Outer Banks. Amid class warfare and a high-stakes treasure hunt, she's chosen to forgo her wealthy upbringing in loyalty to the Pogues. Kiara's free-spirited, open-hearted nature was what attracted Bailey, 21, to the role in the first place, she told the Charlotte Observer. Below, what to know about the breakout star, including her recent comments about being pansexual and living with borderline personality disorder.
Bailey grew up in North Carolina, where the show takes place.
Bailey, the youngest of seven siblings, grew up in Kernersville, North Carolina—mere hours from where Outer Banks takes place, per the Charlotte Observer. She had lived in Los Angeles just three months before heading back to the Carolinas to shoot the series. (Although Outer Banks takes place in North Carolina, it was actually filmed in Charleston, South Carolina.)
In an interview with Seventeen, Bailey said she connected with the character because of their similar upbringings. "I was adopted into a white family. As a kid, you don’t realize that you're riding on a privilege that doesn’t belong to you," she explained. "Growing up and going out on my own and [I realized I was] being treated differently than I had been my whole life. People using derogatory words or saying harsh things were completely foreign to me. It took a while to find my footing and realize who I am and how I’m viewed when I’m not standing with my parents. I think not fitting in anywhere is something a lot of mixed people specifically struggle with, especially in a small town in the south."
Bailey's sister is her stunt double on Outer Banks.
Another hometown tie Bailey shares with the Netflix series—her older sister Katie is her stunt double. Charlotte Observer reported that Katie assumes the role of Kiara whenever the character needs to hop fences or climb outdoors. “She’s in gymnastics,” Bailey told the outlet. “My sister had never done stunt (work), but I talked with the stunt coordinator and it was such a chill show…It’s amazing they gave us that opportunity and experience together.”
She was one of the last actors cast in the series.
Although Bailey seems to be a natural fit for the role of Kiara, she entered Outer Banks relatively late in the casting process, she told Harper's Bazaar. Madelyn Cline, Jonathan Daviss, and Rudy Pankow had already been cast in their roles as Sarah, Pope, and JJ, respectively.
Bailey told the outlet that she ended up meeting Pankow on a flight to South Carolina for her final callback. After they passed each other on the plane, she said, "I had a DM from him. He was like, 'I knew you were Kiara the second I saw you.' And I was like, 'Oh my God, did this guy three seats up really just DM me?' He went and found our mutuals, found my page, and messaged me." Shortly after, Bailey got the role and the rest is history.
Bailey also has no idea what's going on with Kiara's love life.
Speaking of Pankow, Bailey is aware that fans would like their characters—JJ and Kiara—to get together romantically. But, as viewers know, Kie broke the cardinal rule, "Pogues don't mack on Pogues," with a few of the characters. Early in the season, Kiara was kissed by John B. (Chase Stokes), before they decided to stay friends. And in the finale, she and Pope (Daviss) kiss when he admits his feelings for her. Even though JJ is the only one in the friend group Kiara doesn't lock lips with, fan support for that relationship is evident.
"I think people want what they don't have in a way," Bailey told Entertainment Weekly about the JJ-Kiara dynamic. "If it was me and JJ, then people would be like, 'Well, what about Pope?' It's just the one connection that we didn't even realize we were creating at all, and J.J. is the only other Pogue that Kiara doesn't have any romantic interaction with, so I think that's why they want it."
Bailey can also sing.
In addition to acting credits on shows like CW's Black Lightning and NBC's Constantine, Bailey also has quite the voice. In an interview with Seventeen, she said, "I’ve been singing since I could talk." Some of her favorite artists, per the outlet, include J. Cole and Tierra Whack. Bailey also shares videos of herself singing and playing the ukulele with her 1.6 million Instagram followers.
She recently came out as pansexual—and introduced the world to her girlfriend.
While Kiara's love life may be in flux, Bailey has no questions about her current relationship. In late May, Bailey came out publicly as pansexual on her TikTok, writing, "Nobody knows what pansexual means. Girls, boys, trans boys, trans girls, nonbinary babies. It's what's on the inside, boo."
Bailey's next TikTok confirmed her relationship with UNC-Charlotte basketball player Mariah Linney, 21. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Bailey said that the pair began chatting after she saw a TikTok video Linney had posted about her.
Things got serious between the couple quickly, Bailey told ET, with Linney meeting Bailey's family three days after their first date in Charleston. “It’s very serious,” Bailey told the outlet about her relationship. “I had zero hesitation to post on social media about it because I was like, ‘No matter what happens, you will be in my life forever.’ I care about her so much. She's very gentle-hearted, kind, loving, and you see that in the way she loves basketball [and] her family. You see her loyalty and dedication in the things that she cares about. I think I am in love.”
Bailey also further explained her journey to coming out as pansexual to ET. “[Being pansexual is] basically just loving people for people, regardless of gender or any type of sexuality or any type of anything,” she said. “I dated a girl when I was 18 and was like, ‘Yay, I'm gay… but I still like boys, so I guess I’m bi.’ I went a couple of months feeling like I was bi, then I worked with a trans boy on a show and we dated and I was like, ‘What does that make me? I guess I’m pan.’ I just went with the flow.”
Bailey has opened up about living with borderline personality disorder.
Another part of Bailey's life that she's speaking about publicly—her borderline personality disorder, which she was diagnosed with at age 17, per ET. “It's not something I know everything about. I'm figuring it out day by day on my own,” she told the outlet, later adding, “One of the main [pros] is that likes and dislikes change often, so my aesthetic changes often. My music taste changes often. I have a very broad personality, which allows me to connect with a lot of people. Being sensitive was such a hard thing [and] that's another one of the main components of this disorder—having an exposed nerve to every emotion and feeling. But it allows me to connect with so many more people. I'm able to put myself in other people's shoes easily, and deliver empathy with authenticity.”
