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 32–33) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, director, producer, actress |
| Years active | 2015–present |
Notable work | You're So Talented, Brown Girls |
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]
Bailey resides in Los Angeles.[5]
| 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 |