Bailee Madison Was Never The Same After Bridge To Terabithia

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Bailee Madison began acting at a ridiculously early age. In fact, her first acting credit came when she was just two weeks old, appearing in an Office Depot commercial. Her mother was an actor, and took baby Bailee and her older sister with her to auditions; when a baby was needed for a TV commercial, infant Madison just happened to be right there.

As she grew older, she continued accompanying her mom and sister (who also acted in commercials) to their auditions. As Madison told Fort Lauderdale Daily in 2018, she can remember unclicking the restraints on her stroller and "trying to crash their auditions." That led her to land her first movie role at age five, which was a small role in the film "Lonely Hearts." Her big break came shortly after, when she was cast in the 2007 fantasy film "Bridge Terabithia," a role that proved to be her breakthrough. 

In fact, that early film role proved to be the starting point for a thriving career as a child actor, eventually evolving into a multifaceted showbiz career as she grew older. When looking back at Bailee Madison's stunning transformation, it quickly becomes clear why Madison was never the same after "Bridge to Terabithia."

Looking back at her career in hindsight, Bailee Madison can recognize how "Bridge to Terabithia" was the catalyst for everything that followed. "I was five years old when I filmed that movie, and I don't even know how I got to be a part of it, but I did," Madison told IMDb in 2022 when discussing the "roles that changed her life." At the time, Madison's mother assumed that the youngster would return to school, and that would be that. "Like, my mom and I thought I would just go back to school and be in Florida," she added.   

That did not happen. Instead, her role in the film placed her on Hollywood's radar. At an age when most of her peers were still learning to tie their shoes, Madison was suddenly an in-demand child star auditioning — and often landing — movie and television roles. These included a guest spot on medical drama "House," Disney Channel's "Cory in the House," and procedural crime drama "CSI: NY," and various film roles. 

One of those roles was in "Cowgirls 'n Angels," in which she co-starred with Hallmark Channel staple Alicia Witt — who, as a former child actor herself, was able to be something of a mentor to Madison. "She started acting even younger than I did, and has made the transition into an adult actor so seamlessly, plus she's a really talented musician and has so many diverse interests," Madison told The Hollywood Interview. "She was a great role model."

By 2013, Bailee Madison had made more than her fair share of guest-starring appearances on television. Among her most memorable was portraying the younger version of Snow White (played as an adult by Ginnifer Goodwin) in the fairytale-inspired series "Once Upon a Time."

That year, she took another big step in her career when, for the first time, she was cast as a series regular in the TV series "Trophy Wife." Suddenly, she was co-starring with some veteran acting heavyweights in a cast that included Malin Akerman, "West Wing" alum Bradley Whitford, and Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden.

While the series was canceled after its first season, the experience proved to be a valuable one for Madison, marking the first time she'd played the same character for an entire 22-episode season. As she said in an inteview with Darling, that was also the first time she'd spent any extended time in Los Angeles. "The crossroad started when I was 14 and I did a show called 'Trophy Wife' here in LA for a year. It was the first time I was ever in LA for a year," she said. It wasn't until later, in hindsight, that she realized just how important that experience had really been for her: "Looking back at it now, I think I was so unconscious of how pivotal for me as a 14-year-old to have that time and to also have that stability for the first time in a year was really special."

As it happened, the cancelation of "Trophy Wife" proved to be a mixed blessing for Bailee Madison. While losing a steady gig surrounded by prestigious co-stars was no doubt a bummer, in the big picture the show's ending freed her up for a project that proved to be even more pivotal to her career: playing Grace Russell in the 2015 Hallmark Channel hit "Good Witch." 

Speaking with PC Principle about the series' third season, Madison expressed her thrill at being part of such a beloved and successful show. "The journey has been really exciting, particularly this season as an actor," she said. "I am just a lover of my character and it's been really fun for me to explore this new world for Grace."

All good things must come to an end, and Madison exited the show after its fifth season. As for why Bailee Madison disappeared from Hallmark's "Good Witch," Madison simply felt that five years had been long enough, and the time was right to move on to explore some new opportunities. "So grateful for 5 amazing seasons with 'Good Witch,' the amazing cast and crew which have become like family and Hallmark Channel, who I've worked with since I was 11 years old," she wrote in an Instagram post, bidding farewell to Grace while looking ahead to an exciting future. "As one chapter ends, a new one begins which is even more exciting and unexpected than the previous one," she added.

As the years passed and Bailee Madison grew from kid to teenager, the roles she played likewise evolved along with her. Meanwhile, she was still a teen when she began producing the projects that she acted in, which was the case with the 2016 feature "Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket," and "A Cowgirl's Story," released the following year. 

Even though she was all of 16, Madison told Teen Vogue in 2015 that she'd had her eye on producing for some time already. "I've always wanted to do it, but I've always wanted to do it with the right project," she said. When "Annabelle Hooper" came along, offering her the chance to reunite with people she'd worked with before, she felt there was enough of a comfort level to dip her toe into producing. "I wanted to learn and be a part of an amazing team of mentors who can guide me and teach me, and help me be a part of the more hands-on process of script revisions, and character and casting and making notes and finding locations," she said.

Unlike some producers who slap their name on a project and have little involvement beyond that, Madison viewed the experience as a hands-on opportunity to learn the ropes. "I really just wanted to get down and dirty with it and I've learned so much," she explained. 

Producing offered Bailee Madison a new skill set behind the camera, but the experience also left her hungry for new trails to blaze. That became clear in 2018 with the publication of her first book, "Losing Brave," a novel she'd co-written with Stefne Miller. "The book is a psychological thriller that teens can read and the families don't have to worry about the content in the book and the teens can have a safe space to read it," Madison told PC Principle of her first work of fiction.

"It's a story about self journey, being brave, figuring out who you are, while also figuring out one of the greatest mysteries and fears of [the protagonist's] life," Madison told Blink YA Books of the story that unfolds in "Losing Brave," in which a 17-year-old girl investigates the mysterious disappearance of her twin sister.

Promoting the book alongside Miller at BUILD Series, Madison revealed that the story that ended up on the page was very different from what the two had originally envisioned. "At first, we had this kind of offbeat, witty, coming-of-age, quirky novel, and then the conversation became ... what have I not done that I would like to do one day? And it was, like, psychological thriller," she said, explaining she'd been inspired by such thrillers as "Gone Girl" and "Girl on the Train."

Bailee Madison is the youngest of seven children, and credits her older sister Kaitlin Vilasuso with placing her on the road to Hollywood success. She was often along for the ride when Vilasuso, 13 years her senior, went on auditions for acting roles, which ultimately sparked Madison's entry into the world of child stardom. 

Despite that 13-year-age gap, she and her big sis have always been close — which was evident when they teamed up to launch a podcast in 2018. Titled "Just Between Us," the podcast found the siblings sharing their views on a wide range of topics. 

The podcast only lasted about a year, with Madison taking to Instagram in 2019 to reveal that they'd decided to pack it in. "Yesterday we released our final @justbtweenus episode," she wrote, admitting that she and her sister had "no idea what to expect when we decided to go on this year journey ... but boy can we both agree now that it couldn't have been more special or memorable."

Had it not been for her role as a 5-year-old in "Bridge to Terabithia" setting her on the path to future stardom, who knows whether Bailee Madison would have met Blake Richardson. As it happens, the two have been an item since 2019, their relationship only growing stronger over the years. 

So who is Bailee Madison's boyfriend Blake Richardson? Well, he's a member of British boy band New Hope Club — which is how he and Madison wound up meeting in the first place (she's a fan of their music, and sharing her admiration over social media led the two to connect). "I hearted him, and he, like, hearted me back in 10 seconds," Madison recalled during an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show."  At first, they could only connect virtually, due to both having busy schedules that kept them in different places. However, they made it work, and weathered the inevitable difficulties in a long-distance relationship. "I'm proud of our 19-year-old selves for surviving distance and also trying to navigate and grow in your twenties," Madison told Teen Vogue in 2024.

In 2022, Madison praised her beau in an Instagram post celebrating their third anniversary. "It's getting better, all of the time," she wrote, describing Richardson as both "my best friend, and my favorite hand to hold. Walking through life with you is priceless."

In 2021, Bailee Madison returned to her dual role as star and co-producer in "A Week Away," a faith-based musical that was picked up to stream on Netflix. Not only did she flex her muscles as both actor and producer, but the film also showcased a side of her talents that she hadn't really yet been able to place under the spotlight: her gifts as a singer. In the film, Madison played Avery, a teenager who has regularly attended a Christian summer camp. When troubled teen boy Will is given the option of either attending the camp or going to juvie, he winds up there, and is befriended by Madison's character.  

"It was simply a joy all around," she said of working on the film in an interview with Brief Take, while telling Rose & Ivy that being able to sing and dance in a movie musical took her out of her comfort zone and gave her a level of confidence she didn't even know existed."I do think the life I have lived has given me a sense of confidence," she said.

Ultimately, the making of "A Week Away" was, on many levels, a major learning experience for her. "I learned so much about my voice and the creative process by being part of the larger collaborative process," she told Mom the Magnificent. "I couldn't be more grateful for that opportunity."

In 2022, Bailee Madison fully made the transition from child star to adult actor when she was cast in what was arguably her edgiest role to date: Imogen Adams in "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin," a sequel to hit series "Pretty Little Liars." In "Original Sin," she played a pregnant teen fighting to protect her friends from the mysterious nemesis known as "A." (She returned in the second-season follow-up, "Pretty Little Liars: Summer School").

Having never been pregnant herself, Madison was forced to push her acting skills to the limit to inhabit the psyche of a teenager coping with deep trauma while expecting a baby. "So I wanted to be very mindful of that already and then learning about the trauma that Imogen went through, learning about how she got pregnant, that was so far removed from anything that I've ever had to experience or have had someone else in my life experience, thankfully," she told Collider. "But the reality is, is that it is all too true for so many women and so many people."

While Madison may have felt she was reaching to find the character, her co-stars could only be impressed by the skills she brought to the table. "Bailee's had inspiring scenes as an actor to watch her play," her co-star Maia Reficco told Teen Vogue in 2024. "She's the best, I love Bailee. I look up to her a lot."

While it may be tempting for some to wonder whatever happened to Bailee Madison, the truth is that she's never really gone away. It's also true that Bailee Madison leads a lavish life, the hard-earned result of being a successful actor since the age of 5. And even though she gifted fans with a taste of her singing abilities in her Netflix film "A Week Away," that was just scratching the surface compared to what came next. In 2021, she signed with Jonas Group Entertainment, with plans to launch a parallel career as a singer. "I'm finally ready to take this leap," she said in a statement to Variety. "Music is a very personal and vulnerable side of me ... sharing this part of myself with the world means so much, and it feels like a chance to give insight on my heart."

That came to fruition in late 2024, with the release of her debut single "Kinda Fun." As she told People that year, she and boyfriend Blake Richardson were working together in his recording studio, sipping wine and having fun, when "Kinda Fun" emerged. "It's kind of a hug to my younger self, and then kind of a pat on the back I would give to my current self to bring the fun back into everything again," she said of the good-time theme pervading the song. 

As she explained, the song also represented the place she was at in her life at that time — a most excellent place. "And it feels really good," she added. "This is probably the happiest I've ever been in my life." Whether she would have made it there had she not been cast in "Bridge to Terabithia" at the age of 5 is anyone's guess.