Madison Bailey

Madison Bailey is a pansexual actress who has been openly pansexual since 2017 — a remarkably early and confident disclosure for a young actress at the start of her career. She has spoken about choosing the word pansexual because it most accurately captures her experience of attraction: "I want to choose somebody based on a soul connection, and that just makes the most sense for how I feel." Bailey identifies as Black and mixed-race and has spoken about the intersection of her racial and queer identities, including the experience of being a visibly queer young Black woman in the entertainment industry. She is best known for playing Kiara Carrera in Netflix's teen adventure drama "Outer Banks" (2020–present), a series with a massive global following. She has been in a public relationship with Mariah Linney, a professional basketball player, and has used that visibility to normalize pansexual relationships and LGBTQ+ identity for the show's primarily young audience. Her combination of charisma, openness, and willingness to speak frankly about identity has made her an important figure in LGBTQ+ youth representation.