Cynthia Bailey

**Cynthia Denise Bailey-Hill** (born February 19, 1967) is an American television personality, model and actress. She is best known for starring in the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

## Early Life

Bailey was born in Decatur, Alabama to parents Elijah and Barbara Bailey. She has one younger sister, Malorie Bailey.

She attended the University of Alabama whilst competing in local beauty pageants. She was the first African-American homecoming queen at Deshler High School.

## Career

### 1985-2009: Modeling Career

Bailey, at age eighteen, moved to New York City and signed a five-year contract with Wilhelmina Modeling agency.

She appeared in the 1985 low-budget film The Dark Power and the 1989 music video for New Order's "Round & Round". In 1990, she played Roxanne in the film Without You I'm Nothing, and remained friends withits star Sandra Bernard. Naomi Campbell was also considered for the role. Her audition for a role in the 1991 film The Five Heartbeats. In 1993, she played a model in the film For Love or Money, and the following year, she appeared in the music video for Heavy D's single "Nutting But Love" from the album of the same name. She played a masseuse in the 1995 episode of New York Undercover.

After working as a runway model in Paris and Milan for a year, she returned to New York City and modelled for Maybelline, Oil of Olay and Target and in magazines including Vogue, Glamour, Elle and Vanity Fair. She appeared on two Essence magazine covers in June 1995, her first job as a model, and 1997. The magazine's then editor-in-chief Susan L. Taylor described Bailey as one of her favourite models. Her favourite modelling job was a Vanity Cover shot by Annie Leibovitz and featuring Iman, Beverly Johnson, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks; Iman had invited Bailey to participate in the shoot.

### 2010-2016: Other Work

In 2011, Bailey opened her modelling school, Bailey Agency School of Fashion in Atlanta; the following year, she held a model search in several cities in the Southern United States as part of a contest to win representation by a New York modelling agency. Bailey appeared in a trilogy of music videos ("Age Ain't a Factor", "Baby x3" and "Chase Forever") for Jaheim's 2013 album Appreciation Day. In the "Age Ain't a Factor" video, she was shown in a fictional Essence article on "Ageless Beauty", alongside LisaRaye McCoy and Vivica A. Fox. The "Baby x3" video focuses on infidelity with Bailey and Peter Thomas portraying secret lovers.

She appeared in the 2015 documentary series Black Friday, which is about how little consumer spending is retaining within black communities. The same year, she acted in Kenya Moore's television pilot, Life Twirls On. For the character, she used a Jamaican accent. In 2016, she had a minor role in the film Sharknado: The 4th Awakens, and guest starred on The Next :15 alongside former Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Claudia Jordan. She was also featured on a celebrity edition of Cupcake Wars with NeNe Leakes.

### 2017-present: Professional Expansion

Bailey was a guest judge for the preliminary and finals competition of the 65th Miss Universe competition. In 2018, she signed a contract with the New York-based agency Major Models; her daughter is also signed with the company. In April 2018, she underwent surgery to remove a lipoma tumour from her left shoulder blade. The procedure was successful without any reported complications. In 2019, she guest starred in an episode of Last Call, and acted in How High 2, the sequel to the 2001 film How High. She also started a line of bags, named CB VIOR, as well as a line of candles, leather goods and eyewear.

She opened a wine bar, The Bailey Wine Cellar, and an event space, The Bailey Room, in Grant Park, Atlanta in July 2019. The same year, she had a partnership with Seagram, creating a signature drink, a Bellini cocktail. It was sold i April 2019. The launch party was shown on an eleventh season episode of RHOA. In 2019, she guest-starred on Star and Tales.

### The Real Housewives of Atlanta

In 2010, Cynthia joined the cast of the Bravo reality television series for the third season. She has appeared in every season since.

#### **RHOA Taglines**

* Season 3 and 4 - "I know how to work it and be seen."
* Season 5 - "Beauty fades. Class is forever."
* Season 6 - "My business is beauty and I'm the boss."
* Season 7 - "Life is about choices and I choose Cynthia."
* Season 8 - "Seasons may change but Cynthia Bailey never goes out of style."
* Season 9 - "Life is a runway and Cynthia Bailey is ready to walk it alone."
* Season 10 - "Age is just a number but these cheek bones are timeless."
* Season 11 - "I age like a fine wine and now I'm ready to chill."
* Season 12 - "The only times that I look back is to see how far I've come."
* Season 13 - "I've been through the peaks and the vows, and now I'm head over heels."

## Personal Life

#### Marriages and Children

Bailey dated basketball player Jayson Williams in 1996 and he proposed to her during a Brooklyn Nets halftime show. She rejected the proposal and the pair broke-up. She also rejected a marriage proposal from producer Russell Simmons.

She was then in a long-term relationship with actor Leon Robinson and together they have one daughter, Noelle (born November 9, 1999). The couple are separated.

Bailey has been married twice. She married her first husband, businessman Peter Thomas on July 24, 2010. Their wedding was shown on The Real Housewives. The couple divorced 2017.

She married her second husband, Fox Sports correspondent Mike Hill on October 10, 2020.

## Family

**Husbands and Partners**

* Russell Simmons (Ex-boyfriend)
* Jayson Williams (Ex-boyfriend)
* Leon Robinson (Ex-boyfriend)
* Peter Thomas (Ex-husband; 2010-2017)
* Mike Hill (Husband; 2020-present)

**Children**

* Noelle Robinson

**Parents**

* Elijah Bailey
* Barbara Bailey

**Siblings**

* Malorie Bailey

## Filmography

### Film

 1990
 Whatever Happened to Mason Reese
 1993
 2016

### Music Videos

 1994
 2013
 "Chase Forever"