Bailee Madison Riley (born October 15, 1999) is an American actress and singer. She first gained acclaim for her role as
May Belle Aarons in the fantasy drama film ''
Bridge to Terabithia'' (2007). Madison received further recognition for her starring roles as Isabelle in the war drama film ''
Brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
'' (2009), Sally Hurst in the horror film ''
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'' (2010), Maggie in the romantic comedy film ''
Just Go with It
''Just Go with It'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, and Heather Parry. It is a remake of the 1969 film '' Cactus Flower ...
'' (2011), Harper Simmons in the comedy film ''
Parental Guidance'' (2012), Ida Clayton in the family film ''
Cowgirls 'n Angels
''Cowgirls 'n Angels'' is a 2012 American family film starring Bailee Madison, James Cromwell, and Jackson Rathbone. The film was directed by Timothy Armstrong from a script by Armstrong and Stephen Blinn.
Plot
12-year-old Ida Clayton (Bailee M ...
'' (2012), Clementine in the fantasy film ''
Northpole'' (2014), Kinsey in the slasher film ''
The Strangers: Prey at Night'' (2018), and Avery in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
film ''
A Week Away
''A Week Away'' is a 2021 American Christian jukebox musical teen drama film directed by Roman White. The film was written by Alan Powell (actor), Alan Powell, Kali Bailey, and Gabe Vasquez. The film's songs were produced and mixed by Adam Watts ...
'' (2021).
On television, she appeared as
Maxine Russo in the fantasy sitcom ''
Wizards of Waverly Place
''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wiza ...
'' (2011), young
Snow White
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
in the fantasy drama series ''
Once Upon a Time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...
'' (2012–2016), Hillary Harrison in the sitcom ''
Trophy Wife
A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires sub ...
'' (2013–2014), and Sophia Quinn in the drama series ''
The Fosters'' (2014–2016). From 2015 to 2021, Madison starred as Grace Russell in the
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...
comedy-drama series ''
Good Witch''. In 2022, she began her role as Imogen Adams in the horror thriller series ''
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin'', a spinoff of ''
Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...
''.
Early life
Madison was born in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
the youngest of seven children. She has four brothers and two sisters. Her older sister,
Kaitlin Vilasuso, is also an actress. Her mother is Patricia Riley. She began her career when she was two weeks old, appearing in an
Office Depot commercial. Since then, she has appeared in several national commercials for major companies including
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
,
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
, and
Cadillac. She also serves as a national youth spokesperson for the childhood-cancer charity
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Personal life
Since 2019, Madison has been in a relationship with Blake Richardson from the band
New Hope Club
New Hope Club is a British pop trio formed in 2015, consisting of Reece Bibby, Blake Richardson, and George Smith. Their debut EP, ''Welcome to the Club'', was released through Steady Records/ Hollywood Records on 5 May 2017; the band relea ...
.
Career
2010s
In 2010, Madison starred in her first leading role in the supernatural horror film ''
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark''. She starred alongside
Katie Holmes and
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series ''Neighbours ...
, portraying the role of Sally Hurst, a lonely withdrawn child who is sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend.
Roger Ebert of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, calling it "a very good haunted house film" and adding that it "milks our frustration deliciously."
In 2013, Madison began playing Hillary on the TV sitcom ''
Trophy Wife
A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires sub ...
'', replacing Gianna LePera who played the character in the pilot. In 2014, she began playing the recurring role of Sophia Quinn in the
ABC Family drama ''
The Fosters''. In 2015, she began playing Grace Russell, the daughter of Cassie Nightingale, in the Hallmark series ''
Good Witch''. Madison continued in the role until the end of the fifth season in 2019.
In 2017, it was announced that Madison would star in an adaptation of Rachel Bateman's novel ''
Someone Else's Summer''.
In 2018, Madison portrayed the role of Kinsey, a rebellious child in the
slasher film ''
The Strangers: Prey at Night.'' She starred alongside
Christina Hendricks
Christina Rene Hendricks (born May 3, 1975) is an American actress and former model. With an extensive career on screen and stage, she has received various accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awar ...
and
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson (born 8 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He is known for his roles on the American medical drama series '' Off the Map'' as Dr. Ben Keeton (2011), the medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Nathan Riggs (2015–201 ...
, as her parents. Although the film received a mixed response from critics, Madison's performance was praised and was relatively successful at the box office.
2020s
In 2021, Madison played the female lead in a teen Christian musical drama, ''
A Week Away
''A Week Away'' is a 2021 American Christian jukebox musical teen drama film directed by Roman White. The film was written by Alan Powell (actor), Alan Powell, Kali Bailey, and Gabe Vasquez. The film's songs were produced and mixed by Adam Watts ...
'', alongside
Kevin Quinn. Netflix released the film on March 26. The following year, she played Imogen Adams in the
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
horror-thriller series ''
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin'', a spin-off of ''
Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...
'', to critical acclaim.
Other ventures
Madison has served as the national youth spokesperson for
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation since 2010, an organization that encourages kids to fundraise and spread awareness of pediatric cancer by running their own lemonade stands.
["Young actress Bailee Madison sells lemonade for charity, celebrates Girl Scouts 100th anniversary with new role"](_blank)
FoxNews.com, June 12, 2012. In January 2018, Madison's first novel was published, ''Losing Brave'', a
Young-Adult Mystery which was co-written with Stefne Miller. Since November 2018, she has co-hosted the podcast ''Just Between Us'' with her sister
Kaitlin Vilasuso.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Publications
* ''Losing Brave'' (January 24, 2018) (co-written with Stefne Miller)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madison, Bailee
1999 births
Living people
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Florida
American Christians
American child actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
American voice actresses
Actresses from Fort Lauderdale, Florida