- Celebs
ByKelsie Calderon
Charley Gallay/Getty Images
Fame found actress Madelyn Cline almost overnight. It was something she, herself, never even anticipated. "It all happened so quickly," she admitted to Schön! Magazine. "It was so surreal." At first, reading about herself online — especially about her off-screen relationship with co-star Chase Stokes — was something completely new for her. Yet, after her Netflix series "Outer Banks" was available to stream for the very first time, Cline instantly became a star.
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Looking back, it's as if the young actress was always destined to take on the role of Sarah Cameron. "I am from Charleston, so our shooting locations already felt like home," Cline explained. The two even have a pretty similar life story. "[I] wanted to do something completely out of left field with my life. I think Sarah is the same way," she said. Ever since she stepped onto our screens, she's certainly done exactly that.
You may know her as Sarah on "Outer Banks," but chances are that you've actually seen the actress before — so let's start all the way back at the beginning if you feel so inclined. This is the stunning transformation of Madelyn Cline.
Madelyn Cline's childhood had the best of both worlds
Lowcountry Parent
Madelyn Cline always had dreams to make it big. Born in South Carolina, she had the small-town experience growing up, yet she was able to live out her dream of being on camera at a very early age. "When I was 10, I started going to New York to do commercial print work," she explained in an interview with Schön! Magazine. Her modeling career quickly began gaining momentum after winning a local competition in 2008 (via Grazia), which led to her landing the cover of American Girl and even appearing as part of an ad for Toys R Us — things that any kid her age would have loved to have.
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As print advertisem*nts began moving to the small screen, the acting bug eventually bit Cline. When she was only a kid, her parents drove her back and forth to the big city so she could appear in commercials for Mattel, T-Mobile, and more. "I loved the city, I loved being on sets and being around other creatives," Cline explained. Yet, that wasn't the only reason her parents were interested in the idea of her acting. "It was a way to save up for college later on, so it was kind of a win-win," she added.
Being a teenager was tough for Madelyn Cline
The modeling industry is a tough business. Yet, it may be even harder for someone who's only a kid. Growing up in front of a camera definitely wasn't an easy experience for Madelyn Cline. "When I was younger I did struggle with eating disorders, specifically when I was a teenager," she revealed to Women's Health.
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As her body was growing and changing, the young actress had trouble accepting herself for how she looked. "All I knew was I wasn't achieving a particular body image, and so I was angry," Cline admitted. Because of that, she would spend hours working out each day and eating very little when mealtime rolled around. "I was harming myself and starving myself in the process of trying to achieve that," she said.
In the end, it was her mother who helped completely change her mindset regarding her body image. She began teaching her daughter to focus on the features that she loved the most about herself. "After that repetition those things became solidified in my mind," Cline said. "I like my curves, I like my hips, and after a while I started to love my body."
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If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (text NEDA to 741741).
Madelyn Cline was forced to make a tough decision in college
After graduating from high school, it was finally time for Madelyn Cline to head off to college. After all, Cline and her parents had been saving up for college for years. Yet, life seemed to slowly lead her in another direction. As a college student, she started getting even more callbacks than before. Eventually, "I had run out of excused absences at school," she admitted to Schön! Magazine. At that point, the aspiring actress knew that she could no longer split her time between school and the spotlight: It was time to choose.
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One day, as Cline drove to set for a small role she landed on "Stranger Things," she seemed to know exactly what she needed to do. However, her parents weren't on board. "I dropped out right before midterms," she explained to Vogue. "And they were like, 'What did we do wrong?' It was everything they didn't want." Yet, deep down in her heart, Cline knew she had what it takes to make it big in Hollywood. That week, the aspiring actress left college and moved herself to Los Angeles.
Leaving college was a major reality check for Madelyn Cline
Madelyn Cline made herself at home in Los Angeles at a perfect time — right as pilot season was in full swing. However, as she walked into her very first audition, reality started to sink in for the young actress. "I realized, 'Holy [expletive]. There's a thousand of me," she admitted to Vogue. At that point, she had given up her education and had to decipher if acting was important enough to her. "So I had to get really real with myself and be like, 'Do you want to do this? Is this something you want to pursue, because you can still go back to college'" — even "'Am I making a big mistake?'" she explained. Cline started to wonder if her parents had actually been right all along.
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Moving to California didn't mean Cline would necessarily solidify herself in the spotlight, but she was going to do her best to get herself there. Yet, after countless auditions and rejections from casting directors, "I realized really quickly that I didn't believe in myself enough to have confidence," she continued. However, an important call soon came her way that changed things completely for the young actress.
Madelyn Cline booked her first role on the big screen alongside some big names
By 2018, Madelyn Cline had officially secured herself a spot on the big screen. Booking the role of Chloe in "Boy Erased" was a big deal: For the very first time, Cline would be starring alongside some big names like Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe. "That was intimidating for sure," she admitted to Vogue, and, still, it was something she had been dreaming of her entire life. "That was definitely a fangirl moment for me but when you're in those situations you don't want to fangirl too hard because they're your co-workers," she said.
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The R-rated drama taught Cline what it truly took to be an actress. As the days went by, she learned a lot from the other leading men and women beside her. "I was enamoured watching all of them work and embody characters," she said. Audiences everywhere were, too. The film received 49 award nominations, including two Golden Globenominations. Being a part of this cast was the real deal for Cline. "You learn so much just by watching them and being around and being able to pick their brain for a little bit," Cline said. "And if anything, it's encouraging and it makes you want to continue to work and improve." At this point, it seemed safe to say that Cline had finally gotten her confidence back.
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Fate led Madelyn Cline back to her hometown
After wrapping up the movie "Boy Erased," Madelyn Cline received an interesting script in her inbox. It was for a Netflix series called "Outer Banks." "The log line was basically, four friends on a treasure hunt," Cline explained to Vogue. "And I was like 'I don't know, it's a little corny.'" Yet, after giving it a second look, the actress was hooked and knew she needed to be Sarah. Luckily, after taping her own audition, Cline got the call to come in and meet with producers in Charleston, South Carolina, of all places — where her parents lived. It seemed as though it was meant to be.
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After meeting with the showrunner, she flew back to Los Angeles and got a call she'll never forget. The producers wanted her back in South Carolina. At almost lightning speed, Cline had landed herself the role. It would be her first recurring one, too. "It all happened so quickly that I just remember thinking, 'I don't know, I feel like this is all happening so fast, this is all too good to be true,'" she admitted. "'I feel like they've got the wrong gal.'" They definitely did not, and today, no fan could ever imagine any other actress playing Sarah Cameron.
The Outer Banks star got more involved behind-the-scenes
Playing Sarah on "Outer Banks" has been Madelyn Cline's breakout role. Yet, few fans know that it's one she's been very involved in behind-the-scenes, too.
When Cline first read some of Sarah's lines in the script, she instantly knew there was more to her that needed to be shared. "I wanted to add some depth and some quirkiness to Sarah to make her feel not so stereotypical," Cline explained to V Magazine. After a discussion with the show's creators, they agreed. Cline quickly realized that she had a lot more power as an actress than she had first thought. "They told me, 'We trust you and we want you to run with this,'" she said.
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Over the course of her time on "Outer Banks," Cline has had a hand in developing Sarah's personality on a much deeper level. With that, came wanting her character to have a realistic relationship with her on-screen love interest,John B. "There were things that [co-star] Chase and I specifically added to the script that felt personal," Cline explained to Seventeen, which made acting it out feel especially personal for her. "Building on that and then projecting it on the screen felt very, very real." In fact, it felt so real that the pair's relationship slowly moved off-screen, too.
Madelyn Cline fell in love with her co-star
In June 2020, Madelyn Cline had fans freaking out after they learned viaInstagram that she was dating her co-star Chase Stokes. At that point, however, "people were already speculating," Cline told Entertainment Tonight. "People knew before we said anything." Many of them could only assume so because of their on-screen chemistry, after all.
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Clearly, the two of them are pretty stoked about spending time together. Ever since their relationship announcement, they've signed on to star alongside each other even more — outside of "Outer Banks." Three months after making it official, they made their way into the music video world together in Kygo's single "Hot Stuff."
Fans obviously love seeing them together, but these actors are always trying to maintain a perfect balance in their partnership by working on separate projects, too. "We are best friends, and we are partners, and we are screen partners," Cline said. "So we're there to support each other, and sometimes you give that person space."
The Outer Banks cast helped Madelyn Cline handle her newfound fame
Ever since "Outer Banks" first aired in 2020, Madelyn Cline has practically become an overnight success — and it couldn't have come at a better time. The series debuted during a worldwide pandemic, when everyone was home binging the next big thing on Netflix. Since everybody was stuck at home (even the stars of the show themselves), "we could only really gauge how it was going through social media," Cline told Vogue. From that perspective, the show was exploding in popularity online.
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When the series first hit the streaming service, the cast was all quarantined inside Cline's apartment. They decided to watch it together. As friends off-screen, they surrounded themselves with pizza and even a pillow fort and celebrated their success — and their newfound stardom. "We're all going through the same thing," Cline told Grazia. "And it just helps to have people around you who understand and who are there for you," and, obviously, that includes her co-star slash boyfriend Chase Stokes.
Madelyn Cline's future is looking bright in film
Kevin Mazur/2021 Mtv Movie And Tv Awards/Getty Images
After taking over our televisions on "Outer Banks," Madelyn Cline is coming for the big screen. After starring in the spooky thriller "The Giant," it seems she's only just getting started in the world of psychological thrillers. "I love films that really leave you thinking for a few days afterwards," she told Entertainment Tonight. "Like you just can't get it out of your head."
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Since then, she's completed work on the sequel to the thriller "Knives Out" alongside stars like Kate Hudson, Ethan Hawke, Kathryn Hahn, and Daniel Craig — just to name a few. "To be able to watch all of these incredible actors that I grew up watching, being able to watch them on set? It's been very, very surreal," Cline told Elle of her experience. Yet, it seems as though this stage of superstardom is still only the beginning for the young actress.
