Madelyn Cline Opens Up About Her Meteoric Success And The First Time She Thought "Look, Mom, I Made It"

The first season of "Outer Banks" aired on Netflix in 2020, and it has since become one of the platform's most streamed shows. The third season aired in February and brought in 99 million hours viewed. Madelyn Cline plays the character of Sarah Cameron, and she acts alongside Chase Stokes, Rudy Pankow, and Madison Bailey. Her rise to fame has been meteoric, and she has since gained over 16 million followers on Instagram. She briefly dated her costar Chase, but they announced their separation in November 2021. Since all eyes have been on her, Madelyn says her life has changed a lot. She opens up to Elle in a new interview.

Madelyn Cline Opens Up About Her Meteoric Success and the First Time She Thought, "Look, Mom, I Made It"

Madelyn, 25, watched her career explode fairly quickly after "Outer Banks" aired. She was given a deal with American Eagle and had roles in "Stranger Things 2" and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. She was on location in Italy when she interviewed virtually with Elle.

“I always thought acting was far-fetched, something that could happen,” she said. “I was doing commercial work when I was younger, and that wasn’t a choice for a career move. I just enjoyed going to New York with my mum and friends because it was fun to spend the summer there. Acting was a far-out idea, and I didn’t know how to bridge that gap.”

She was scouted by a modeling agency when she was only 11 years old, but her real passion was film. She recalled watching Titanic and crying, thinking about how much she wanted to "be in the film world in any way possible." She used to watch old James Dean movies and go to the movie theaters during the hours when they were virtually empty. She kept acting in commercials and eventually found a role on the set of Vice Principals.

“That was the first time I felt like, look, Mom, I made it. I had a honey wagon with these little steps leading to the door and a star with my cast name on it. I felt I was hot sh*t and was so excited,” she recalled. “Every job has had its own milestones, but things really changed when Outer Banks happened.”

She never really expected "Outer Banks" to take off in the way that it did, and when it did, she started feeling a little apprehensive about all the sudden attention.

“You see numbers, you see social media, and that in itself is wild, and it’s hard to fathom the love,” she said. “But there is yin and yang always. It’s like the shadow part of something that doesn’t reveal itself until the spotlight falls on it. I was, like, sh*t. I need to put my money where my mouth is. Outer Banks was amazing, so I thought, was it lightning in a bottle? Were we ever going to be able to recreate this?” 

Madelyn attended the 2023 Oscars in a long-sleeved, backless green dress that garnered much attention and praise. Her interest in fashion has grown exponentially over the last few years, and she has grown into one of Gen Z's favorite celebrities.

The South Carolina native has been grateful for her success at a young age and has been especially loving the red carpet moments when she gets to dress up in something other than the sweatpants she usually finds herself in.