If you ask the people who know Hailey Kilgore personally, they will probably tell you that she was born to do something special. Multi-talented and hard-working, Hailey has never been the type to let anyone stand in the way of her dreams. Now she’s at a point in her career where she’s about to see even more of her dreams come true. After a very successful theater run, Hailey is taking her talents to TV in a major way. She will be playing Jukebox in the upcoming series Power Book III: Raising Kanan. The character was originally portrayed by Anika Noni Rose in Power. Even though Hailey has some big shoes to fill, she’s ready to show the world just what she can do. Keep reading for 10 things you didn’t know about Hailey Kilgore.
1. She Was Adopted
Hailey was born in Texas, but she was adopted at birth by Rebecca and Eric Kilgore who lived in Portland at the time. The family eventually moved to Happy Valley. During an interview with Broadway.com, Hailey said, “My parents wanted to adopt. My mom had an alarm clock system that would play music when you wake up. ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles came on, and she got a phone call from the agency. They said, ‘We have a little girl. She was just born. Would you be able to come and pick her up?’ My nickname is Bird. I have birds in my dressing room and my bedroom.”
2. She Started Performing At A Young Age
The desire to perform has been with Hailey for as long as she can remember. Her parents told her that she started singing before she could even talk. It didn’t take her parents long to realize that Hailey’s love for singing and performing was deeper than just hobbies.
3. She’s A Dog Mom
Hailey doesn’t have any children and from what we can tell she is single, but that hasn’t stopped her from starting a family. She is a very proud pet parent and she recently celebrated her fur baby’s birthday. In a tweet, she said, “It’s my little babies BIRTHDAY!!!! Happy birthday Ms. Pumpkin Spice. I love you so much. You have made me giggle uncontrollably and I feel grateful that we found each other. Mommy loves you SM!”
4. She Was Nominated For A Tony Award
In the theater world, there’s nothing quite as prestigious as a Tony Award, and Hailey has already come extremely close to winning one. In 2018, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the Broadway production of Once on This Island. Hailey was also nominated for a Grammy award in 2019.
5. She Hopes To Help Inspire Other Young Actors
There are lots of people in the spotlight who absolutely cringe at the thought of being considered a role model, but Hailey isn’t one of them. She appreciates the fact that there are people who look up to her and she hopes to use her platform to inspire them and help them learn how to navigate the industry.
6. She Finished High School Early
Hailey’s work ethic isn’t just exclusive to her career, education is also something that has always been important to her, and she put a lot of time into making sure she was successful in the classroom. After attended Clackamas High School for two years, Hailey began taking online classes and she graduated from high school a year early.
7. She Was A Pageant Girl
Hailey was still in elementary school when she started competing in pageants. She told Broadway.com, “My mom really entered me so she could enter me into the talent competition so I could sing in front of people. I sang “There’s a Hero” by Billy Gillman. I won talent, and then I got second place overall. We were like, ‘What?’ Because we were literally going just so I could sing. And then I did it again, and I won. So then I had the responsibility of being a National American Miss, Miss Oregon Pre-Teen.”
8. She Almost Didn’t Audition For Once on This Island
Have you ever thought about how different your life would be if you made just one choice differently? This is something that has probably crossed Hailey’s mind more than a few times seeing as how she almost didn’t even audition for Once on This Island. She was in college at the time and was more focused on getting her degree, but her mother encouraged her to audition for the part.
9. She’s An Ariana Grande Fan
Just because Hailey is a star herself doesn’t mean that she can’t get a little starstruck from time to time. She is a big Ariana Grande fan and she considers her to be a personal role model. Needless to say, Hailey was overjoyed when she finally got the chance to meet the pop star.
10. She Has Big Plans For The Future
Hailey has managed to accomplish a lot of things in a relatively small window of time, but she already has her sights set on the future. One day she hopes to get the chance to work with Kenny Leon who is well-known for his work as an actor, director, and producer.
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