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Stars, effortlessly glittering in the night sky, are one of life’s unconditional promises. From far away, they are delicate and untouchable—the culmination of millennia of hard work, gas, and dust giving way to the immense pressures of gravity, morphing and swirling. At 19 years old, actor Bailey Bass’s career can be likened to the hot core of a star beginning to form, illuminating the nebulous cloud around it. One can imagine an infant Bass swaddled in a stroller, with a head of curly brown hair and large green eyes drawing the adoring coos of the neighborhood crowd on walks—indescribably glowing. Encouraged by strangers in grocery stores, Bass’ mom was inspired to put her into modeling from the age of two, “and that’s when I started my career in the entertainment industry,” Bass laughs.

From there, it was like dominoes. Bass shot her first commercial when she was five, booked her first short film when she was ten, and then landed her role in James Cameron’s sequel to Avatar when she was thirteen. While most teens were getting ready for prom, Bass was getting ready to take on the role of Tsireya. “Acting has always been the consistent dream,” she says with a determined look. In her fifteen year career, she is also credited on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, an upcoming role in Rolin Jones’s reboot of Interview with the Vampire, and numerous other projects.

**GUCCI** jacket, vest, shirt, pants, brooch and **BVLGARI** earrings and rings.

**HERMÈS** shirt, top, and pants and **BVLGARI** earrings and necklace.

From her vantage point, on the cusp of embracing the next level of stardom, it still feels unreal. “I don’t tend to look to the future, because it can be overwhelming,” Bass laughs. Day by day is how she handles life. “When my agent calls to say, ‘Okay, you got a callback for this, or okay, there’s a chance that we’re going to do this project’, I’m like, ‘Okay, but what am I doing tomorrow?’ because if I think about what I’m doing in the next month or the next, I just get so overwhelmed.”

For Bass, the most important thing is to stay fully present in every moment, and to not get lost in the torrent of responsibilities that lingers on the calendar. Citing influences like Diane Keaton, Kathryn Hahn, and Gemma Chan, Bass finds her home in drama. “It was definitely my comfort zone,” she admits. “I love getting into those really dark spaces and those dark emotions and being able to evoke all of those deep feelings.” Rather contrary to her on-screen performances, Bass finds comedy to be the next albeit-scary frontier. “When you’re doing comedy,” she elaborates, “you have to take risks and you can’t be afraid, and acting is such a vulnerable job already.” It’s not a risk that Bass can’t overcome, but rather a welcomed challenge.

**GIVENCHY** jacket and **BVLGARI** earring and rings

**GIVENCHY** jacket and skirt and **BVLGARI** earring and rings.

Away from the tungsten lights and the watchful lens of the camera, Bass has been finding a balance between working and living. “If I’m not working and I’m doing nothing, then I get anxious,” she laughs. “But then if I’m working too much, then I get anxious. So I have to have that middle of the work-life balance, which I am just now starting to understand.” For Bass, listening to worship music has been a saving grace. “Everything that I’ve dreamed of is happening!” she exclaims. “It’s happening at a really fast pace. Being able to listen to worship music helps me stay calm, and stay focused.”

One of the steady anchors in Bass’s world is none other than her mother—encouraging her since day one. On the rare occasion that Bass isn’t working, you will likely find her on the couch enjoying TV with her family. “The best downtime that I could ever have is spending time with my family!” she gleefully declares. “It just reminds you of who you are, because who’s going to know you better than the people that have spent the most time with you?” Bass is still young, with a galaxy of yet to be discovered opportunities awaiting her. Though the pressure of that stardom can sometimes summon deep discord, she’s likely to channel that burning into bright, powerful light—the kind so powerful we can’t look away.