Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress.
Baker began her career in theatre and made her screen debut in the
1983 drama film, The Right Stuff. She received the National Society of
Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress and an Independent
Spirit Award nomination for her performance in Street Smart (1987).
Baker also has appeared in over 50 films, including Jacknife (1989),
Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Cider House Rules (1999), Cold
Mountain (2003), Nine Lives (2005), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007),
Last Chance Harvey (2008), Take Shelter (2011), Saving Mr. Banks
(2013) and The Age of Adaline (2015).On television, Baker starred as
Dr. Jill Brock in the CBS drama series, Picket Fences (1992-1996), for
which she received three Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Drama Series and Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild
Awards. She later received three additional nominations and a
Primetime Emmy Award for her performances in Touched by an Angel,
Boston Public and Door to Door.Baker was born in Midland, Texas, and
raised a Quaker in New Mexico, the daughter of John Seawand Baker, a
geologist and educator, and his French-born wife, Helene Andree (née
Whitton). She attended high school at Mills High School in Millbrae,
California. She graduated in 1968. Her drama instructor, Allen Knight,
was a major influence in her desire to become a professional actress.
She studied acting at the California Institute of the Arts in the
early 1970s. She later earned a B.A. degree in French in 1977 from UC
Berkeley.Baker began her acting career at San Francisco's Magic
Theatre, performing in several of Sam Shepard's plays before getting
her break in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love (1983)
opposite Ed Harris. She won an Obie Award for this role. In the same
year she was cast as Louise Shepard, Alan Shepard's wife, in the drama
film The Right Stuff. She later had dramatic performances as a
prostitute in Street Smart (1987) and a recovering alcoholic and
victim of domestic abuse in Clean and Sober (1988). For her
performance in Street Smart, Baker has won National Society of Film
Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress and Boston Society of Film
Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Independent
Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female nomination. She later starred
in films Dad, Jacknife and Edward Scissorhands.
Baker began her career in theatre and made her screen debut in the
1983 drama film, The Right Stuff. She received the National Society of
Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress and an Independent
Spirit Award nomination for her performance in Street Smart (1987).
Baker also has appeared in over 50 films, including Jacknife (1989),
Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Cider House Rules (1999), Cold
Mountain (2003), Nine Lives (2005), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007),
Last Chance Harvey (2008), Take Shelter (2011), Saving Mr. Banks
(2013) and The Age of Adaline (2015).On television, Baker starred as
Dr. Jill Brock in the CBS drama series, Picket Fences (1992-1996), for
which she received three Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Drama Series and Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild
Awards. She later received three additional nominations and a
Primetime Emmy Award for her performances in Touched by an Angel,
Boston Public and Door to Door.Baker was born in Midland, Texas, and
raised a Quaker in New Mexico, the daughter of John Seawand Baker, a
geologist and educator, and his French-born wife, Helene Andree (née
Whitton). She attended high school at Mills High School in Millbrae,
California. She graduated in 1968. Her drama instructor, Allen Knight,
was a major influence in her desire to become a professional actress.
She studied acting at the California Institute of the Arts in the
early 1970s. She later earned a B.A. degree in French in 1977 from UC
Berkeley.Baker began her acting career at San Francisco's Magic
Theatre, performing in several of Sam Shepard's plays before getting
her break in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love (1983)
opposite Ed Harris. She won an Obie Award for this role. In the same
year she was cast as Louise Shepard, Alan Shepard's wife, in the drama
film The Right Stuff. She later had dramatic performances as a
prostitute in Street Smart (1987) and a recovering alcoholic and
victim of domestic abuse in Clean and Sober (1988). For her
performance in Street Smart, Baker has won National Society of Film
Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress and Boston Society of Film
Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Independent
Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female nomination. She later starred
in films Dad, Jacknife and Edward Scissorhands.
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