<Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 1989--present </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Children </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> Chandra Danette Wilson (born August 27, 1969) is an American actress and director, known for her role as Dr. Miranda Bailey in the ABC television drama Grey's Anatomy since 2005, for which she has been nominated for the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress four times . She made her New York stage debut in 1991 and began to land guest spots on a variety of prime - time television shows . She made her first film appearance in the 1993 film Philadelphia . </P> <P> Wilson was born and raised in Houston, Texas . Her mother, a postal worker, wanted to keep her daughter active, so she enrolled Chandra in a litany of after - school activities that would set the course for her show business career . "Starting at age four, my mom decided that she was not going to have an idle child in the house," Wilson recalls . "So I started taking dance lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then I was in acting classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and I was also modeling on Saturdays . And that was my childhood ." </P>

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