Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959.

Early life

Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Los Angeles, California and raised in North Hollywood and Studio City, California. She is the daughter of Dorothy Helen Harrington, who had appeared in several early Marx Brothers movies, and automobile salesman Clyde Lucius Baker. Baker has two younger sisters, Patricia and Cheryl. At age 18, after graduating from Van Nuys High School in 1956, Baker moved to New York to study acting with Charles Conrad and ballet with Nina Fonaroff.

Career

After securing a seven-year contract with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in 1958, Baker made her film debut when she was chosen by director George Stevens to play Margot Frank in the 1959 motion picture ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Neth ...

''. In the same year, she starred in '' Journey to the Center of the Earth'' with

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

and in '' The Best of Everything'' with Hope Lange and Joan Crawford. Other Fox films in which Baker appeared include the assassination thriller '' Nine Hours to Rama'', '' Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man,'' and '' The 300 Spartans''. Her television work, which began in the 1960s, includes appearances on '' Follow the Sun'', ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

'', '' Adventures in Paradise'', '' The Lloyd Bridges Show'', '' The Nurses'', '' The Invaders'' (in the first episode), and two episodes of ''

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

''. Finally out of her contract with Fox after starring in the fourth screen version of Grace Miller White's novel '' Tess of the Storm Country'' and ''The 300 Spartans'' (1962), Baker appeared in '' Stolen Hours'', a 1963 remake of '' Dark Victory'' (Mirisch Corp. and United Artists), and, the same year, opposite

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

and

Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (; born Elke Baronin von Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Pink Panther (1963 film), The Pink Panther'' sequel ''A S ...

in ''

The Prize The Prize may refer to: * ''The Prize'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Irving Wallace ** ''The Prize'' (1963 film), a 1963 film based on the novel * ''The Prize'' (1950 film), a 1950 French film * ''The Prize'' (2011 film), a 2011 Mexican film * * ...

'' (MGM). From 1963 to 1966, Baker had a recurring role on the medical drama '' Dr. Kildare''. In 1964, she co-starred with Joan Crawford in both ''

Strait-Jacket ''Strait-Jacket'' is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by William Castle, written by Robert Bloch and starring Joan Crawford. Its plot follows a woman who, having murdered her husband and his lover decades prior, ...

'', William Castle's thriller about an axe murderess, and an unsold television pilot ''Royal Bay'', released to theaters as '' Della''.

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

cast her in his film '' Marnie'' (1964) as Lil Mainwaring, the sister-in-law of Mark Rutland (

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

). She co-starred with

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

in the thriller ''

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

'' (1965), directed by Edward Dmytryk, and in ''

Krakatoa, East of Java ''Krakatoa, East of Java'' is a 1968 American disaster film starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. During the 1970s, the film was re-released under the title ''Volcano''. The story is loosely based on events surrounding the 1883 eruption ...

'' (1969) with

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film ''Judgment at Nuremberg'', h ...

. In the TV movie Western ''The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones'' (1966), she played the role of a woman who falls in love with a drifter ( Robert Horton) who is deputized by a dying marshal to take two killers (one of whom is played by Sal Mineo) to a distant jail. In August 1967, Baker played David Janssen's love interest in the two-part finale of '' The Fugitive'', which became the most-watched show in the history of episodic television up until that time. In 1968, she co-starred with Dean Jones in the Disney film '' The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit''. In January 1970, she had the lead guest-starring female role as Princess Francesca in the only three-episode mission of '' Mission: Impossible''. In 1973, Baker co-starred in ABC sitcom '' Here We Go Again''. The series was canceled after one season. In 1976, she played the frequently drunken daughter of the title character of the ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'' episode "Last Salute to the Commodore". In the decades after ''Mirage'', she appeared frequently on television and began producing films, including the drama film '' Never Never Land'' (1980) and the

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

'' A Woman of Substance'' (1984), in which she played Laura. She reemerged on the big screen in '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) as Senator Ruth Martin. Baker also appeared in the films '' The Joy Luck Club'', '' The Cable Guy'', '' The Net'' and '' A Mighty Wind''. She guest-starred in four episodes of ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

'' in 2005, 2008, and twice in 2012 as Blythe House, the mother of the title character. Baker spent more than a decade teaching acting at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She was formerly the executive director of the School of Motion Pictures-Television and the School of Acting.

Personal life

Baker has dated Warren Beatty, Gardner McKay, Frank Langella,

Michael Lerner Michael or Mike Lerner may refer to: * Michael Lerner (actor) (1941–2023), American actor *Michael Lerner (angler) (1890–1978), American angler and businessman * Michael Lerner (rabbi) (born 1943), social activist *Michael Benjamin Lerner (born ...

and John Saxon.

Selected TV and filmography

Awards and nominations

Golden Globe Awards

Primetime Emmy Award

Daytime Emmy Award

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Diane 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th Century Studios contract players Academy of Art University faculty Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American television actresses American women film producers Film producers from California Living people Van Nuys High School alumni 1938 births