Tragic Details About Bailee Madison

The following article mentions mental health struggles. 

Bailee Madison has been acting since before she could speak. When she was just 2 weeks old, she starred in a commercial with her mother. At age 5, Madison landed her first film role in a movie called "Lonely Hearts" ... after tagging along at her sister's audition for the same movie. "I went in there and from that moment on, God blessed me," Madison told Issue. She booked a role in "Bridge to Terabithia" right after, spent a whirlwind six months in New Zealand filming, and went back to school afterwards. She was 7 years old when she attended her first premiere.

A lot certainly has changed in Madison's life over the years. However, if there's one thing that's stayed the same, it's her commitment to the Golden Rule. As Madison told Schön! magazine in 2018, she's still holding on to the advice her mom gave her when she just started her career: "Treat others the way you wish to be treated."

In the same interview, Madison said that she tries to live every day like it's her last. "Our generation moves so quickly, so I think it's so important we learn to take things day by day and do our best to enjoy it," she said. Though both her personal life and professional life have given her plenty to enjoy, that's not to say Bailee Madison hasn't experienced tragedy, rejection, or disappointments. 

Few can say they got their first acting gig as an infant, so it makes sense that Bailee Madison felt a little burnt out while still in her childhood. She admitted this in an interview with News.com.au, saying that the long days, constant memorization of lines, and hundreds of auditions started to take their toll after a while.

Psychologists say this is to be expected. As former child stars like Jodie Sweetin, Jennette McCurdy, and Selena Gomez have all expressed, there's a lot of pressure and trauma that can come with growing up in the spotlight. "Young actors must constantly cope with rejection, jealousy, self-scrutiny, obsessive thoughts, and the nonstop need to be perfect," Wanda Behrens-Horrell, a licensed clinical social worker, wrote in an article for Psychology Today. She noted that it is possible for child stars to turn out just fine, but it all depends on their parents. "The parents [need to] do what is in the best interest of the child's development and well-being," she explained.

Madison knows the crippling feeling of rejection all too well. "I'm still working 24/7 and all these years later I still hear nos and I still face disappointments," she told Schön! magazine. "There definitely was a moment when I had where I was like, 'Does this bring me joy? Am I happy?'" Madison told News.com.au, adding that she knew her mother would let her quit anytime if she wanted to, and that was a comfort.

We all loved Bailee Madison in Hallmark's hit series "Good Witch," but she almost didn't make it that far into her career. When she was just 11 years old, she went through something that made her rethink acting altogether. 

Speaking to Wondermind in 2024, Madison opened up about her career as a child actor, saying that it had its fair share of challenges. "I mean, there were times in my younger life on sets where things would happen, in family dynamics when I was eight or 11, or things that people say all the time in your childhood," she explained, adding some of the things that happened to her during that time had a negative impact. "There was a situation that happened when I was 11 that really just cut really deep. It made me question my faith at the time," Madison shared. She didn't elaborate on what the situation entailed but said that the incident made her want to leave her career as an actor behind. "The thing that I loved the most, it made me ... I was really, really, really low," she said.

She has since realized that what happened wasn't her fault or responsibility, but it did teach her that she determines her own success — not other people. She also learned to reframe how she looked at her career and had to accept that it won't always be easy.

In her aforementioned chat with Wondermind, Bailee Madison offered some advice to her younger self. Above all else, she wished she could go back in time and tell little Bailee not to entertain any thoughts about how she's not good enough. "Looking back, 11 on was maybe subconsciously when I started to be highly aware of the industry that I'm in and be highly aware of people's opinions," Madison said. This made her teenage years extra difficult. Just about everyone deals with extra insecurities when we reach our tweens and teens, but Madison had the opinions of the public, the press, and casting directors to contend with.

"I just feel like there's an innocence that starts to be stripped away more and more," she told the outlet. She went on to share that, at some point, the bravery and self-confidence she had as a child slowly started to dissipate. Now, she's trying desperately to get it back. "I think life can dent you. When you're a kid, I don't know," she mused. "There's this belief that things will be better and that you can be anything that you want to be and do anything that you want. And then adulthood really just slaps you in the face." Now, she's trying to keep her 11-year-old self's bravado and confidence in the back of her mind when she feels her self-consciousness creeping in. "That's something that I'm really doing my hardest to bring back into my life right now," she said.

Some stars prefer to live like normal people, and it might be safe to say that Bailee Madison is one of them. She's always been a pretty private person and hasn't been involved in any high-profile drama like so many of her peers. In 2023, however, Madison gave fans a look into her personal life when she took to Instagram to share that her grandfather had died. "Monday October 23rd my grandpapa passed away... a few hours after I landed back in LA after flying to FL where I was able to give him another hug," she wrote in the post's caption, which featured various sweet photos of her and her grandfather. 

Madison went on to lament that he would not be around to share the coming chapters of her life, but did acknowledge that she was grateful for the time she did have with him. "I do know I will carry him with me and feel him in my heart always. 98 years of life and love. And now, he has returned to my grandma, the love of his life" Madison wrote. "Raising a glass of wine to you Grandpapa. I love you with all my heart."

If you're pretty up to date on Bailee Madison's relationship history, you know that her first serious boyfriend was Emery Kelly, and the reason they probably broke up is because he was, quite frankly, a bit of a jerk.

In September 2015, Madison took to Tumblr to post an essay about the negative effects of stereotypes, revealing that she'd been subjected to them herself. "I was just labeled as a 'prude' by someone a few weeks ago," she wrote (via Teen Vogue). "Now at the time I didn't know what it meant so I just laughed it off and nodded my head awkwardly (as I do). I then got home and looked up the definition of it and was so taken back." At the time, Madison did not reveal who called her a prude. It was only in February 2016 that she drummed up the courage to open up about it.

Speaking to Clover Letter, Madison got pretty candid about the incident. "The person who called me a prude was the first relationship I'd ever been in," she said (via J-14). "When you're four years old, and a boy says that you can't throw better than us, it's both an insult and a challenge. It makes you want to prove them wrong. The same goes for calling someone a prude. It's okay to have morals." She told the outlet that the experience taught her not to put up with a relationship where her values aren't respected.

When Bailee Madison lands a part, she gives it her all, but she's the first to admit that it can become emotionally taxing. In her aforementioned interview with Wondermind, she shared that she's an empathetic person and tends to take on the emotions and energy of others. While that can be a sort of superpower when acting is your full-time job, it can also be mentally taxing when you're working on a show that's a bit on the darker side — especially if your character has a multitude of personal issues. "So for 19 hours a day, for nine months at a time, if you're playing someone who even within the joy still has those cuts inside—just like every human does—it's something that I'm cautious or thoughtful of even if it's not on the page or necessarily calling for it," Madison said.

She said that filming "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin" really tested her resolve when it came to her mental health. "I remember flying back from filming and my sister looked at me and was like, 'You are 20% Bailey. I feel like you are still so deep into that world,'" she said. What's more, she can be a bit of a nervous person. "Even in workout classes in the past, I've been told, 'You don't breathe,'" she said, adding that she was doing breathwork to help her body relax more.

While filming the first season of "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin," Bailee Madison felt incredibly lucky to be a part of the hit franchise. However, at the time, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were very much in effect, which meant no one from home was allowed to visit her. "I remember having this moment of: I'm doing a show that has always been a dream of mine, and I'm the happiest I've ever been. I'm also the lowest I've ever been," Madison told Wondermind, explaining that she began to feel like a shell of herself. 

What's more, the show's dark subject matter didn't exactly help lift Madison's spirits. "On top of being emotionally attached to a character, you're then also going home to somewhere that isn't actually your home, and no one's really there to ground you or see you. That can sometimes be the most isolating part of filming," she explained. "You're around a thousand crew members, and then you walk into your home at night and it's just kind of silent. That can play with my head." Madison shared that phone calls with her loved ones and spending time outside help her feel less removed from the outside world when she's filming. What's more, while shooting the second season, she brought her dog along and regularly hung out with her costars when they were off the clock. "It's the little things that make the impossible seem a bit more possible," she said.

Bailee Madison has undergone a stunning transformation since she first graced the silver screen at the age of 5. Despite her long and impressive career, she still finds herself dealing with insecurities from time to time.

Madison is the first to say that growing up in front of cameras wasn't always glamorous. "Growing up is hard in general and then adding a bunch of strangers watching it happen and commenting freely can be overwhelming at times," she told Schön! magazine. "There's such a societal pressure to look and be 'perfect,'" she added.

When asked about a photoshoot that she did without any makeup, Madison remembered it being a scary moment. While she usually enjoys going makeup-free, she wasn't so sure about baring her skin for a magazine shoot. "I was feeling very self-conscious and not photogenic at all. I left the shoot feeling insecure and feared that when people saw those pictures they would think that I wasn't pretty enough to be in a magazine spread," she admitted. On top of feeling insecure about the actual photos, she felt insecure about feeling insecure. "I always preach to let your skin breathe and feel confident with yourself, and yet I had a hard time doing that myself," she shared. But it turned out to be an important life lesson. "Then the images were sent to me and this has since become one of my favorite shoots that I've done," Madison said.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.