When Cynthia Bailey said her next chapter after 11 seasons on The Real Housewives of Atlanta was acting, the former supermodel was not playing. Bailey has remained booked and busy since leaving the reality series with a string and acting and TV hosting gigs and has no intention of slowing down. Fresh off her latest Lifetime movie, the high-cheekboned beauty is starring in ALLBLK’s anthology series Terror Lake Drive: Single Black Female. The second season of the 7-episode scripted series premiered on June 23 and airs weekly on Thursdays.
The new season takes place two years after the chain of events that traumatized the tenants of the Freeman Lake Apartments in season one, bringing a new and unsuspecting tenant to the mystifying apartment complex. Bailey stars as Rose, a new resident of the Freeman Lake Apartments, along with her nephew, whom she cares for.
It was a role that Bailey felt she could dig into. Not only does she relate to the role as a mother, but she was able to challenge herself by transitioning into a boy mom, something she hasn’t done fully previously.
“I was very attracted to the role of Rose as a mama bear, she told Shadow and Act recently.
“The only difference was I had a nephew, a son in this role. So it’s very different, especially in our community, the difference between raising a Black young man and a Black young woman in our world.”
Bailey is mom to 22-year-old model and influencer, Noelle Robinson, who she shares with legendary actor Leon. “Fun fact: I actually, when I found out I was pregnant with Noelle, I wanted a son. I was like, ‘Oh, I hope it’s a boy. I hope it’s a boy.’ So I secretly now know what that’s like,” she said.
And unlike other roles Bailey has done, including Games People Play and Lifetime’s Cruel Instructions, she didn’t have to audition for it. It’s something she was honored and humbled by at this point in her career.
“I'm getting to the point now where I'm starting to get offers for stuff. And be clear, it's not like I had a big part. But I was actually offered the part. It’s new for me to actually just get offered a part,” she explained.
She typically auditions, which she has no problem continuing to do. And almost immediately after wrapping, she began work on her latest project, which is also due out soon. Bailey says this is her full focus right now.
“[People keep asking me] ‘What's after acting?’ Nothing. This is it. This is not modeling reality TV acting. This is the last stop. And this is my primary focus, and I want to be great at it. And I think that if I work hard and I continue to focus on this, I think I can be great,” she said.
Outside of acting, her businesses are booming. She recently opened her first physical location of CB Vior at the famed Beverly Center.
“That’s another dream come true that I'm a part of. This emerged part of the Black Pop Up Shop initiative, which where they take black-owned businesses, and they give them an opportunity to be in a space like the Beverly Center, which is super expensive if you're not part of this initiative. So kudos to the Beverly Center for even having this initiative for small businesses like myself who can't afford to really pay the rent in there normally,” she explained.
The store has been open for a few months and Bailey says the business is thriving. “Everything has become so diverse, you get all kinds of customers – young, old – we get everybody. And it’s been super exciting. And I’m thinking about extending it at least until the end of the year, and then maybe even thinking about next year, we’ll see how it goes,” she told us.
Bailey discusses more acting dreams, family life and what’s next for her in the full video above.
