Bailey was born in
Auckland on 3 October 1935, and raised in
Whangārei. As a young child she learned ballet, followed by piano and theory when she was 10 years old. She graduated from
Trinity College London when she was 16. Bailey moved to Australia in 1960, spending most of her time in Sydney. She performed on TV, music venues such as the El Rocco, and on many recordings. In 1973, Bailey became the pianist on the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation children's radio show
Kindergarten, which often featured presenters from
Play School In 2017, rapper
Rick Ross with producer
Bink sampled Bailey's "Colour of My Dreams" from the Judy Bailey Quartet album
Colours. The sample was used on Ross's track "Santorini Greece" on the album
Rather You Than Me. Bailey was a represented artist of the
Australian Music Centre. She died in
Willoughby, Sydney, New South Wales on 8 August 2025, at the age of 89. ==Discography==