Age, Biography, and Wiki
Jonathan Bailey is a British actor born on April 25, 1988. He is best recognized for his roles in dramatic, comedic, and musical productions. His outstanding performances have earned him notable awards, including a Laurence Olivier Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award, along with a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Occupation | Stage Actor |
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Date of Birth | 25 April 1988 |
Age | 37 Years |
Birth Place | Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England |
Horoscope | Taurus |
Country | England |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Height: Not specified in the available sources.
Weight: Not specified in the available sources.
Measurements: Bailey's physical measurements are not publicly detailed.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge described her former co-star as "completely brilliant... unbelievably charismatic in real life and so energetic", "Jonny operates at a different voltage. He's a meteorite of fun with an incredible amount of energy and playfulness." Director Marianne Elliott expressed that Bailey is "the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. But when he acts, he can have an edge, which can feel dangerous in a great way. An unpredictability." Elliott recalled that Stephen Sondheim was enamored with Bailey. Three days before the composer died in 2021, Elliott told him that Bailey would be starring in the play Cock. Sondheim "literally stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, put his hand on his chest and said, 'Be still my beating heart,'" Elliott recounted.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Jonathan Bailey has confirmed being in a relationship with a partner he describes as a "lovely man," though he prefers to keep his personal life private.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Bailey's estimated annual salary ranges from $1.8 million to $2.59 million, depending on the source. His net worth is approximately £1.5 million ($1.9 million), with potential increases due to upcoming projects like Jurassic World 4.
Career, Business, and Investments
Bailey's career spans both film and theater. He gained significant recognition for his role in Bridgerton, which has seen his salary increase substantially. Aside from his acting career, there is no detailed information on additional business ventures or investments.
Through his dance club in Henley-on-Thames, Bailey auditioned for and landed the alternating roles of Tiny Tim and Young Scrooge in the 1995 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of A Christmas Carol at the Barbican Theatre in London at seven years old. He sang "Where Is Love?" from Oliver! for his audition. The following year, he made his television debut in the Victorian period drama Bramwell. Bailey also played Little Baptiste in the RSC's 1996 production of Les Enfants du Paradis. By eight years old, he was performing as Gavroche in a West End production of Les Misérables. He has also done pantomime in a production of Peter Pan at The Hexagon playing Michael Darling.
From February to April 2018, Bailey starred in Donmar Warehouse-Sheffield Theatres co-production of Peter Gill's The York Realist. The Evening Standard, The Arts Desk, and Sunday Express gave the production five stars, with The Independent calling it "a pitch-perfect, impeccably acted production" in its own five-star review. Bailey joined the 2018 West End production of Stephen Sondheim's Company directed by Marianne Elliott. He originated the gender-swapped role of Jamie which was initially written as a female character named Amy. Per The Times, Bailey "received an ovation every night after completing the infamous 'Getting Married Today' a rat-tat-tat, mile-a-minute technical feat, lyrically, about marriage jitters." His "lightning-fast, show-stopping rendition of the song became a must-see West End event" according to Variety, and won him the 2019 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.
Bailey headlined the acclaimed 2022 West End revival of Mike Bartlett's play Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre, reuniting him with his Company director Elliot. The Observer called it an "immaculate production", with The Arts Desk writing that it was "brutal, bruising, and brilliant". In the lead role, Bailey's "terrific performance" was "utterly captivating", with Variety noting that his "whiplash comic timing lifts his character from self-obsessed to scintillating, a quality he uses both artfully and artlessly."
Bailey is considered one of the leading LGBTQ+ figures in the entertainment industry and has been included in several influential lists including Attitudes Trailblazers in 2020, Varietys Power of Pride list in 2022, Out 's Most Impactful and Influential in 2023, and The Independent's Pride List in 2024. GQ described him as "one of the few gay British actors working onscreen whose roles don't seem defined wholly by their sexuality." Pride declared that he is proof gay actors can convincingly play straight roles, with Out writing that Bailey's visibility is inspiring LGBTQ+ performers to come out.
Social Network
Jonathan Bailey is not extensively active on social media platforms, preferring to maintain a private life while still engaging with his fans through interviews and public appearances.
Bailey began his career as a child actor in Royal Shakespeare Company productions and by eight was performing as Gavroche in a West End production of Les Misérables. He starred in contemporary plays such as The York Realist in 2018 and Cock in 2022; in classical plays like Othello in 2013 and Richard II in 2025; as well as in musicals, namely the London revival of The Last Five Years in 2016 and the West End gender-swapped revival of Company for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2019.
In 2001, Bailey played Prince Arthur for the RSC's King John. He made his feature film debut in 2004 in Five Children and It, a film adaptation of E. Nesbit's fantasy novel of the same name. In 2006, on the last day of his A levels, he started rehearsing for a revival of the play Beautiful Thing in London, taking over the lead role from Andrew Garfield. The Telegraph wrote that Bailey "memorably lit up" the production. That role was followed by guest roles in long-running British television staples like Doctors and The Bill. His first leading role on television was in the 2009 BBC sitcom Off the Hook about a group of first-year university students.
In 2013, Bailey rose to popularity for playing the local journalist Olly Stevens in the first two series of the hit crime-drama Broadchurch on ITV. On stage, he was cast by then Royal National Theatre's artistic director Nicholas Hytner as Cassio in his production of William Shakespeare's Othello at the Olivier Theatre in 2013. Bailey considers this his "big break" with Hytner also becoming his mentor. The production was shown to cinemas via National Theatre Live. His "likable, open-faced", and "smoothly ambitious" Cassio was "splendid", per The Washington Post. Hytner also directed Bailey in one of the vignettes for National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage where he played Valentine Coverly from Tom Stoppard's Arcadia.
In 2023, Bailey starred opposite Matt Bomer in the Showtime adaptation of Fellow Travelers. His performance was described by The Washington Post as "sensational" and won him a Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries and earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. The following year, he had a guest appearance in the third series of the teen drama Heartstopper.
Bailey resides in Hove, East Sussex. An avid cyclist, he has also competed in marathons and triathlons in addition to being fond of paddleboarding and mountaineering. In 2018, he hiked the Everest Base Camp in Nepal; the following year, he participated in the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for the Scottish branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. In 2024, he ran the Hackney Half Marathon to benefit LGBTQ+ youth charity Just Like Us of which he is a patron.
Bailey privately came out as gay to friends and family in his early 20s, but did not comment on it in public for another decade. He came out publicly in 2018. Although cautious of discussing his sexuality, which he sees as a personal matter that "becomes a commodity and a currency", he is committed to visibility and representation saying: "If I can fill spaces that I didn't have growing up then I feel like that's a really brilliant thing." He also called this "something [he'll] always strive to do".
Education
Details about Bailey's educational background are not widely available in the public domain.
He grew up in nearby Benson and Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, and has three older sisters. He described his upbringing as a "co-operative of four brilliant women and a dad who has an incredible work ethic". He decided that he wanted to be an actor at the age of five after his grandmother took him to see a production of Oliver! in London. His first ever appearance on stage was in a primary school production of Noah's Ark, playing a raindrop.
Bailey attended the local Church of England-affiliated Benson Primary School, then The Oratory School while taking ballet lessons. He later had a music scholarship to Magdalen College School, Oxford where he played the piano and clarinet. After securing a talent agent at 15 years old and booking acting roles, he eventually declined his university acceptance offer and opted not to go to drama school, later saying that this kept him grounded in the performing arts: "I've never gone in as the overdog, and that's liberating and I don't want that to ever change. I just want to allow my own experiences to come through."
In 2011, Bailey played the titular Leonardo da Vinci in the 2011 CBBC action-adventure series Leonardo, which follows a young Leonardo and his friends in 15th century Florence. The show ran for two series, spawned an online game, and received four KidScreen Awards. The same year, he starred in the comedy Campus, a semi-improvised sitcom in which he played Flatpack, a student athlete with Olympic potential.
Bailey appeared alongside Ian McKellen in the acclaimed production of King Lear at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2017. He received rave reviews for his performance as Edgar which the Evening Standard described as "a touching study of transformation". Bailey also made a guest appearance in series two episode two of Michaela Coel's sitcom Chewing Gum in 2017 where he played Ash, a romantic interest to Coel's character Tracey.
Bailey has been described by the media as a sex symbol whose fans, according to the Los Angeles Times, span "all genders and orientations". TIME magazine included Bailey in its annual class of Next Generation Leaders in 2022, writing that he is "redefining the 'Hollywood Heartthrob'".