Biography for
Diane Baker

photos

board

add

contact

details

Date of Birth

Birth Name

Height

Mini Biography

Stylish, raven-haired actress with a notable career in films and television. Born and raised in Hollywood, she moved to New York at eighteen to study acting with Charles Conrad and ballet with Nina Fonaroff. She continued her training in Los Angeles at the Estelle Harman Workshop, securing a contract with Twentieth Century Fox. Baker's first film assignment was a true prestige picture: legendary director George Stevens cast her as Margot Frank, older sister of Anne, in "The Diary Of Anne Frank." Baker remained at Fox as a contract player performing in films such as "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "The Best of Everything," and "Nine Hours to Rama." After her contract ended, she worked on a pair of distinguished projects at Universal Studios: "Mirage" with Gregory Peck and "Marnie" for director Alfred Hitchcock.

Baker was also a reliable performer in episodic television. She produced sensitive, affecting work in Rod Serling's touching "Night Gallery" episode "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar," and, in a colorful turn as an unstable dipsomaniac, the "Columbo" episode "Last Salute to the Commodore."

While continuing to perform, Baker moved into producing small, independent films such as "Portrait of Grandpa Doc" (with director Randal Kleiser) and "Never Never Land" (with Petula Clark), and larger projects such as the Emmy-nominated television miniseries adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's "A Woman of Substance" (with Deborah Kerr).

More recently she distinguished herself essaying the role of clan matriarch Rose Kennedy in the CBS miniseries "Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis," and has performed memorably with Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs" (as the distraught Senator Martin) and with Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick in "The Cable Guy."

She is currently (2005) acting with Frank Langella in the new HBO series "Unscripted," directed by George Clooney, and is also teaching acting courses in the School of Motion Pictures, Television, and Acting at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.

Where Are They Now

(August 2004) Interviewed in the SF Chronicle, she is now heading the Acting program at the SF Academy of Art.

	You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.
	With our Resume service you can add photos and build a complete resume to help you achieve the best possible presentation on the IMDb. Click here to add your resume and/or your photos to IMDb.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z