Bailey Tippen stole the show in her breakout role as a Sylvie in Beauty in Black, Tyler Perry’s hit Netflix series. At only 22, she’s already worked with some of the greatest talent in the business. Bailey recently sat down with Parlé Mag to spill all the tea on the new season, and what’s next for her character, and ultimately her career. Check out the full Bailey Tippen interview below.
Parlé Mag: Beauty in Black has become such a massive hit. What was your first reaction when you realized how big the show was getting globally?
Bailey Tippen: I was definitely surprised. I know it was a great storyline. Tyler Perry really did his thing on the storylines and the characters. But I was so shocked to see it catch on across the world and people invested into what we’re doing. It’s pretty cool.
Parlé Mag: So initially what drew you to this role when you first read it?
Bailey Tippen: When I first read it, I felt connected to the role. I didn’t know much about her just yet. I thought it was just like, you know, come in and do one scene and that’s it. I did not know they were going to bring her on for the ride and the journey.
Parlé Mag: What’s been your favorite part of playing this character?
Bailey Tippen: I like how she’s unapologetic about how she feels. Like she speaks her mind, even if it’s no filter, like she just lets it out. She’s herself. She’s authentic and I love that.
Parlé Mag: Do you feel like you share any similar traits in real life or has it been like a complete departure?
Bailey Tippen: We can be kind of different, but you know, I do have some similarities to her as well. She’s courageous, she’s brave. Despite the odds, she’s still alive and well.
Parlé Mag: You’ve worked on a bunch of different roles and different things. How do you feel like each project you kind of evolved as a different actress? Where do you want to go?
Bailey Tippen: I have been working at this since I was nine years old. So I have played many different characters, many different stories. And I’m interested to see how it plays out. But I mean, I feel like there’s some good things in the works.
Parlé Mag: Yeah, is there anything you can tease for us about the latest or the newest season?
Bailey Tippen: It’s a soap opera and it’s over the top dynamic, so you can expect even more drama.
Parlé Mag: Soap opera acting is a different type of acting. I love it and I’m obsessed with it. But do you feel like it stretched you in different ways? Were you able to easily jump into that world?
Bailey Tippen: It definitely stretched me in completely a new ballgame of acting. Yeah, like I think the most, it was a challenge, definitely a challenge, but I feel like the most the thing that I connect most with with this character is like just trying to find out where she is at every given scene because it’s always something new that’s popping up, know, something tragic that’s popping up and just figuring out how she would deal with these certain situations as they continue to go. So yeah, I think that’s been the biggest challenge and fun part about it.
Parlé Mag: Being a part of the Tyler Perry universe is amazing. Is there anything that you learned in that kind of creative world or in that space or from him actually at all?
Bailey Tippen: Mr. Perry, he’s a beast at his job, right? He wears so many hats. He is creator, producer, director, and he also is familiar with acting too. So I like to think of it as like him being like multilingual so he can speak the language of so many different people. And he’s very ambitious. And I think that those are good skills to have. Working with him, you kind of pick up on that drive and ambition as well.
Parlé Mag: There’s a lot of serious themes in Beauty in Black with power dynamics and all of that. Was any of that kind of something that you struggled to grasp or were you just down to go for it?
Bailey Tippen: I feel like I was down for the ride. So of course, I had to do research to be able to get a grasp of the inner struggles that the character goes through that may have not been shown to the world. But yeah, I was down for the ride. And as an actor, it’s always fun when you get to step out of your comfort space and comfort zone and to just dive deep into like everything that the character is dealing with.
Parlé Mag: Did you learn anything from your fellow co-stars?
Bailey Tippen: It’s been amazing. My co-stars are pretty down-to-earth, pretty chill, and yeah, I love them.
Parlé Mag: That’s awesome. What are you interested in doing in the future? Are there any other types of roles that you’re looking forward to?
Bailey Tippen: So many. I would love to do a rom-com. I think that would be so much fun. And also I would love to direct and produce in the future as well. For the fans, get ready for season three. It’s a lot of good stuff. Thank you for tuning in.
