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Chandra Wilson has a high-profile career playing Dr. Miranda Bailey on TV’s wildly popular hit series Grey’s Anatomy. But the Emmy nominated actress and People’s Choice Award winner, 53, has a fulfilling life behind the scenes as well. And although she’s been extremely private about her longtime partner, she does sometimes open up about her three children, ranging in age from 16 to 28.
Here’s what you need to know about Chandra’s two daughters and one son with her elusive partner of over 30 years.
Sarina McFarlane
Chandra’s first child, daughter Sarina McFarlane, was born in 1992. According to People, Chandra’s eldest is extremely intelligent and creative, having studied screenwriting at Cal State Northridge. But according to the magazine, the actress went through a difficult time when her daughter, then 16, began to suffer from unexplained nausea and vomiting. Her role on television as a medical professional quickly became all too real.
Sarina, it turns out, suffers from a rare, incurable vomiting syndrome. “I found myself tracking what foods she was eating, where we were, tracking all this information myself,” Chandra told the outlet in 2017. “Each hospital visit, I would put the info into a binder. By month eight, I was walking around with this gigantic binder.” Sarina added that the disorder is something that continually recurs. “I could be sad about it, but it’s going to come back anyway.”
According to People, Sarina was finally diagnosed in 2010 with mitochondrial dysfunction and cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). Per Sarina’s Instagram account, she aspires to be a “full time novelist” and regularly shares her drawings on the platform.
According to Parade Magazine, her eldest daughter accompanied Chandra to the NAACP Image Awards in 2007, and when asked about celebrating together, the actress quipped, “She’ll probably want to stop at McDonald’s on the way home.”
Joylin McFarlane
Joylin McFarlane, born in 1998, is Chandra Wilson’s second daughter. Though she has an active presence on social media, little is known about the actress’s middle child. Joylin has reportedly pursued a graduate degree in business analytics and is in a long term relationship with boyfriend Grant Fairman. She appears to have a happy home life as well, posting a family photo of her siblings and parents in matching Christmas pajamas in December of 2020, and sharing pics of them at Disneyland.
When asked by Parade Magazine in 2007 whether any of her kids wanted to act, Chandra joked about Joy’s outgoing personality. “They haven’t expressed any interest,” she told the publication. “But the middle one is the ‘mugger.’”
Michael McFarlane
As Chandra has continued her career, appearing on various shows including Sex and the City, The Sopranos, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, she was also expanding her family. The Lone Star and Head of State actress gave birth to her youngest child, and only son, on Halloween of 2005, making him the lone remaining minor in his family’s household. Michael’s father has hardly been touched on in Chandra’s interviews, though she did hint at the nature of the relationship in a past interview. “He and I have a 19-year relationship,” she told Parade back in 2007. “We go back and forth, but it works for us.”
