Samantha Bailey (born 1989)[1] is an American writer, producer, director, and actress. She is known for the web series You're So Talented and Brown Girls.

Sam Bailey
Born
Samantha Bailey

1989 (age 34–35)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)Writer, director, producer, actress
Years active2015–present
Notable workYou're So Talented, Brown Girls

Career

edit

Bailey was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois in the Logan Square neighborhood.[2] She began stage acting as a teenager and received her bachelor's degree from Columbia College Chicago.[3]

After graduation, Bailey began acting professionally in the city's theatre community.[3] She was frustrated by the quality of roles she was cast in and used that frustration to inform writing a sketch that would become You're So Talented. She rose to prominence for the self-produced web series, a semi-autobiographical story about a struggling 25-year-old actress in Chicago. It was her first time directing and writing.[4] You're So Talented was nominated for a Gotham Award in 2015.[5]

In 2017 she co-produced the web series Brown Girls with poet Fatimah Asghar, which starred two young women coming to terms with queer identity, and navigating career and relationships.[3] The series received a nomination for a 2017 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series.[4] Bailey and Asghar signed a deal to develop the series with HBO.[4]

She co-produced the short documentary film Masculine/Masculine with Hank Jones at the 2018 LA Film Fest.[6]

Bailey has directed episodes of the television series Alone Together, First Wives Club, East of La Brea, Grown-ish, Loosely Exactly Nicole, and Dear White People, for which she was also a writer and producer.[1][4][5]

In April 2022, Bailey was selected to direct episodes of the superhero streaming series Ironheart, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[7]

Personal life

edit

Bailey resides in Los Angeles.[5]

Accolades

edit

Awards and nominations

edit
Year Award Category Work Result
2015 Gotham Awards Breakthrough Series - Short Form[5] You're So Talented Nominated
2017 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama[4] Brown Girls Nominated
2019 SXSW Grand Jury Award for Episodic Pilot[9] East of La Brea Nominated

References

edit
  1. ^ a b ""I Want to Play": Talking with Sam Bailey". The Rumpus.net. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  2. ^ Irby, Samantha (2019-08-12). ""I Want to Play": Talking with Sam Bailey". The Rumpus.net. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  3. ^ a b c Golden, Brian. "Filmmaker Sam Bailey Offers a Fresh Take on Young Women of Color". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Kai, Maiysha (2018-11-29). "Brown Girls and Beyond: Sam Bailey Is Adding New and Needed Voices to Our Narrative". The Root. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  5. ^ a b c d Vickery, Morgan (2019-10-16). "Q&A | Sam Bailey". Flaunt Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  6. ^ Kwateng-Clark, Danielle (25 September 2018). "New Short Film Imagines a World Where Men Are the Oppressed". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (April 11, 2022). "Marvel's 'Ironheart' Finds Its Directors While Ryan Coogler Boards as Executive Producer". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  8. ^ "30 Under 30 2018: Hollywood & Entertainment". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  9. ^ "SXSW 2019 Schedule". SXSW 2022 Schedule. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
edit