‘This Is Us’: Who Is Hailey? Adelaide Kane Plays a New Key Player in the Pearson Family Storyline
The This Is Us Season 4 finale — entitled “Strangers: Part Two” — pulled out all the stops on Tuesday, March 24. From the title, most fans expected the strangers who were introduced in the premiere — Jack Damon (Blake Stadnik), Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison), and Malik (Asante Blackk) — to pop up at some point. But the This Is Us episode also highlighted an unexpected new stranger named Hailey, played by Adelaide Kane. So who is Hailey and how is she tied to the Pearson family? Here’s everything we know so far.
Who is Hailey in the ‘This Is Us’ Season 4 finale?
At the start of the This Is Us Season 4 finale, viewers meet Hailey, a woman who works at an art gallery. In her debut scene — not specified in any timeline — Hailey’s coworker and friend, Zach, asks her out. She rejects him and her friend thinks she’s into someone else — a movie star to be exact.
Of course, many fans tried to connect the dots and thought Hailey was meant to be Kevin’s (Justin Hartley) fiancée. However, that theory is quickly dispelled. Eventually, Hailey runs out of the gallery and Zach assumes she’s meeting up with the mystery guy. But it’s not true.
Throughout “Strangers: Part Two,” Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan) celebrate baby Jack’s birthday in the present day. After spending some time at the NICU, Toby admits he wants to have another child.
Earlier in the episode, he saw the strong bond between Kate and her brothers. And Toby wants the same for Jack, noting he wishes his son to have someone even after they’re gone.
Kate seems receptive of the idea. But she doesn’t think she can go through another pregnancy. So Toby suggests they adopt. After all, the Pearson clan has a pretty good track record when it comes to adoption.
Meanwhile, Kate and Toby’s son, Jack Damon, makes his big return alongside his pregnant wife, Lucy (Auden Thornton) in the future. At the hospital, Lucy gives birth to a baby girl named Hope. Then This Is Us solidifies Hailey’s timeline as the character rushes in on Jack and Lucy. Now the Pearson family connection is made — Hailey is Jack’s sister as well as Toby and Kate’s adopted daughter.
Adelaide Kane plays Hailey, Jack’s sister, in ‘This Is Us’
The This Is Us Season 4 finale didn’t introduce baby Hailey in the present day with Kate and Toby. So that journey will likely be explored when the NBC drama returns for its fifth season. But even so, fans got to meet adult Hailey, played by Kane.
For those of you who may not know, Kane is a 29-year-old actress from Australia. Within the past few years, she has been in numerous projects. So it’s likely you’ve seen her around. According to Kane’s IMDb profile, she starred as Cora Hale in Teen Wolf, Lolly Allen in Neighbours, and Ivy Belfrey in Once Upon a Time. She also portrayed the lead in The CW’s Reign and appeared in The Purge.
Now will Kane’s role as Hailey become more than a brief cameo in This Is Us Season 5? Only time will tell at this point. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, creator Dan Fogelman hinted we haven’t seen the last from Hailey. He said:
We really love the actress we found to play the daughter, Adelaide, and obviously we’ve really [fallen in love with] Blake, who plays Jack Jr. So our hope is to continue to make people invested in these future storylines by getting into the characters slowly, as we’ve done, so that by the time you’re really landing in full stories with them, if we do, you feel that great investment.
Read more: When Does ‘This Is Us’ Season 5 Start? The Next Premiere Date Will Hopefully Come Soon
