Alicia Frances Vela-Bailey (born July 8, 1982) is an American stunt performer, actress, dancer, and choreographer. Vela-Bailey was a stunt double for leading actresses in films Avatar (2009), Total Recall (2012), Underworld: Awakening (2012), Divergent (2014), Lucy (2014), Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), Wonder Woman (2017), Avatar: The Way of Water (2023), and Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025).
Vela-Bailey also had several acting roles, predominately in horror films, including portraying Diana, a main antagonist in the 2016 supernatural horror film Lights Out, also appearing in Hostel: Part III (2011), The Purge (2013), Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), and Annabelle: Creation (2017). Additionally, Vela-Bailey portrayed recurring characters in television series, including Alisha Whitley in the ABC superhero action drama series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014), and Owl in Disney+ superhero dark comedy fantasy series Agatha All Along (2024).
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Biography
Alicia Vela-Bailey was born on July 8, 1982, in California, United States, and grew up in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States. She is a daughter of magician Carlos Armando from El Salvador, and dancer Cecelia Vela-Bailey from North Carolina, United States. She practiced dancing and gymnastics since her youth. Vela-Bailey used to a be member of the Pussycat Dolls dance group, which performed at the Caesars Palace luxury hotel and casino at the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, United States. She is also a professional dancer, practicing classical ballet, jazz, and hip-hop, among other styles. Vela-Bailey began her career as a stunt performer, working on the production of the 2005 action film BloodRayne, and the 2006 science fiction action film Ultraviolet, as the stunt double of their lead actresses, Kristanna Loken and Milla Jovovich, respectively. For her performance in the latter production, she was nominated for two categories at the 2007 Taurus World Stunt Awards.
Vela-Bailey was a stunt double for leading actress Zoe Saldaña, who starred as Neytiri in the 2009 20th Century Studios epic science fiction film Avatar. She was also a movement specialist, being a key figure in developing choreography for the characters, and training actors working with the motion capture. Additionally, she also portrayed Ikeyni, a minor character in the film. Following this, she was a stunt double for lead actresses in numerous movies, including for Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men: First Class (2011), Kate Beckinsale in Total Recall (2012), Underworld: Awakening (2012), and Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), Anne Hathaway in Interstellar (2014), Scarlett Johansson in Lucy (2014), Shailene Woodley in Divergent (2014), and Gal Gadot in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Wonder Woman (2017). She was also a stunt double and stunt performer in television series such as Agent Carter (2015), K.C. Undercover (2015), Westworld (2015), The Punisher (2017), The Defenders (2017), Luke Cage (2018).
Vela-Bailey had several acting roles, prominently in horror films, including portraying Diana, a main antagonist in the 2016 Warner Bros. Pictures supernatural horror film Lights Out. She also appeared in Hostel: Part III (2011), The Purge (2013), Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), and Annabelle: Creation (2017). Additionally, Vela-Bailey portrayed recurring characters in television series, including Alisha Whitley in the ABC superhero action drama series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014), and Owl in Disney+ superhero dark comedy fantasy series Agatha All Along.
She was a stunt double for actresses Zoe Saldaña and Sigourney Weaver in the epic science fiction films Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), also training actors on set in the choreography. Vela-Bailey also portrayed a secondary character named Zdinarsik "Z-Dog" in Avatar: The Way of Water. She was also a stunt double for Saldaña in the 2023 Marvel Studios science fiction superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and also worked as a stunt double and stunt performer on television series The Orville (2022), Star Wars: Ahsoka (2023), and The Mandalorian (2023).
Personal life
She is married to actor and martial artist Matt Mullins.