Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American actress of film, stage, and television. Spanning a career of fifty years, Baker appeared in 66 feature and television films, as well as 16 television appearances and over 15 stage credits, including 3 Broadway productions. Her most prolific role was in Elia Kazan's 1956 film Baby Doll, which earned her a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Throughout her career, she became an established movie sex symbol.
Baker began her acting career in New York City as a member of the Actors Studio, and starred in Broadway productions before her screen debut in Easy to Love (1953). After the critical success of Baby Doll, Baker worked consistently throughout the 1960s, starring in westerns such as How the West Was Won (1962), as well as independent films such as Something Wild (1961) and melodramas The Carpetbaggers (1964) and Sylvia (1965). After portraying Jean Harlow in 1965's Harlow, Baker initiated a legal dispute over her contract with Paramount Pictures, which ultimately led to her being blacklisted in Hollywood. Baker moved to Europe in the late 1960s, where she starred in multiple Italian horror and giallo films.
She saw a return to American cinema in Andy Warhol's Bad in 1977, and later received critical acclaim for her performance in Ironweed (1987) alongside Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. Baker worked in both television and film into the 1990s, and had supporting roles in the critically acclaimed Hollywood films Kindergarten Cop (1990) and David Fincher's The Game (1997). She formally retired from acting in 2003.
Screen Films Film Year Film Role Director(s) Box office(USD) Notes 1953 Easy to Love Clarice Charles Walters 1956 Giant Luz Benedict II George Stevens 39,000,000 Baby Doll Baby Doll Meighan Elia Kazan 2,300,000 "Top Grosses of 1957", Variety, 8 January 1958: 30 Won – Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer (female)**shared with Jayne Mansfield and Natalie WoodNominated – Academy Award for Best ActressNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated – BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress 1958 The Big Country Patricia Terrill William Wyler 4,000,000 "All-Time Top Grossers", Variety, 8 January 1964. p. 69 1959 But Not for Me Ellie Brown/Borden Walter Lang 2,500,000 "1959: Probable Domestic Take", Variety, 6 January 1960. p. 34 The Miracle Teresa Irving Rapper 1961 Bridge to the Sun Gwen Terasaki Étienne Périer Something Wild Mary Ann Robinson Jack Garfein 1962 How the West Was Won Eve Prescott John FordHenry HathawayGeorge Marshall 50,000,000 1963 Station Six-Sahara Catherine Seth Holt 1964 The Carpetbaggers Rina Marlowe Cord Edward Dmytryk 13,000,000 Golden Laurel — Dramatic Performance, Female (2nd place) Cheyenne Autumn Deborah Wright John Ford 3,500,000 This figure consists of anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See "Big Rental Pictures of 1965", Variety, 5 January 1966. p. 6 1965 Sylvia Sylvia: West (Karoki, Kay, Carlyle) Gordon Douglas 1,500,000 Anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See "Top Grossers of 1965", Variety, 5 January 1966 p 36. The Greatest Story Ever Told Veronica George Stevens 15,473,333 Mister Moses Julie Anderson Ronald Neame 1,250,000 Anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See "Top Grossers of 1965", Variety, 5 January 1966. p. 36 Harlow Jean Harlow Gordon Douglas 3,400,000 1967 Her Harem Margherita Marco Ferreri Jack of Diamonds Herself Don Taylor 1968 The Sweet Body of Deborah Deborah Romolo Guerrieri 1,600,000 1969 Paranoia Kathryn West Umberto Lenzi Also known as: Orgasmo So Sweet... So Perverse Nicole Perrier 1970 A Quiet Place to Kill Helen Also known as: Paranoia 1971 The Fourth Victim Julie Spencer/Lillian Martin Eugenio Martín Also known as: Death at the Deep End of the Swimming Pool Captain Apache Maude Alexander Singer Also known as: Deathwork The Devil Has Seven Faces Julie Harrison/Mary Harrison Osvaldo Civirani 1972 Knife of Ice Martha Caldwell Umberto Lenzi Also known as: Silent Horror 1973 Baba Yaga Baba Yaga Corrado Farina Also known as: Baba Yaga: Devil Witch, and Kiss Me, Kill Me The Flower with the Deadly Sting Evelyn Gianfranco Piccioli 1974 The Body Madeleine Luigi Scattini 1975 Private Lessons Laura Formenti Vittorio De Sisti At Last, at Last Lucia Marino Girolami 1976 As of Tomorrow Polly Pott François Legrand Also known as: Blackmail Chase My Father's Wife Laura Andrea Bianchi Also known as: Confessions of a Frustrated Housewife Carol Peter Patzak Also known as: Shattered Dreams 1977 Andy Warhol's Bad Hazel Aiken Jed Johnson 1,500,000 Also known as: Bad 1978 Cyclone Sheila René Cardona Jr. Also known as: Terror Storm 1979 The World Is Full of Married Men Linda Cooper Robert Young The Sky is Falling Treasure Silvio Narizzano Also known as: Bloodbath 1980 The Watcher in the Woods Helen Curtis John Hough 5,000,000 1983 Star 80 Nelly Hoogstraten Bob Fosse 6,472,990 Red Monarch Brown Jack Gold 1984 The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud Mama Freud Danford B. Greene 1986 Native Son Mrs. Dalton Jerrold Freedman 1,301,121 1987 Ironweed Annie Phelan Héctor Babenco7,393,346 1990 Gipsy Angel Phoebe Al Festa Kindergarten Cop Eleanor Crisp Ivan Reitman201,957,688 1991 Blonde Fist Lovelle Summers Frank Clarke 1992 Jackpot Madame Mario Orfini 174,000,000 Also known as: Cyber Eden 1995 Elaine Mitchelson Nikolai Müllerschön 1996 Just Your Luck Momie Gary Auerbach 1997 The Game Ilsa David Fincher 109,400,000 1998 Nowhere to Go Nana John Caire
Television series Television Year Series Role Notes 1952 Monodrama Theater Clarice Late-night show on DuMont Television Network 1954 The Web Episode: "The Treadmill" 1955 Studio One Jennie Episode: "A Stranger May Die" DangerEpisode: "Season for Murder" 1963 Armchair Theatre Lena Roland Episode: "The Paradise Suite" 1970 W. Somerset Maugham Sadie Thompson Episode: "Rain" 1975 The Wide World of Mystery Sandy Marshall Episode: "The Next Victim"; was produced for Series 6 of Thriller 1984 Sharing Time Fran Episode: "Oceans Apart" 1985Hitler's SS: Portrait in EvilGerda HoffmanTV movieWhat Mad Pursuit?Louise Steinhauser1987On FireMaureen 1990 Grand Viva Episodes: "The Well", "Wolf Boy", "The Mother Load" 1991 Tales from the Crypt Mother Paloma Episode: "The Trap" 1991 P.S. I Luv U Victoria Episode: "The Honeymooners" 1992 Davis Rules Episode: "Everybody Comes to Nick's" 1993 Murder, She Wrote Sibella Stone Episode: "Love's Deadly Desire" L.A. Law Rae Morrison Episodes: "How Much Is That Bentley in the Window", "Leap of Faith", "Book of Renovation, Chapter 1" Judgment Day: The John List StoryAlma ListTV movieMen Don't TellRuthA Kiss to Die ForMrs. Graham 1995 Chicago Hope Sylvie Tannen Episode: "Informed Consent" 1996DalvaNaomiTV movieWitness RunMartha Shepherd1997North Shore FishArlyneSkeletonsNancy NortonHeart Full of RainEdith Pearl Dockett 1998Rag and BoneSister Marie, Tony's Aunt 1999 Roswell Grandma Claudia Episode: "Leaving Normal" 2000Another Woman's HusbandLaurel's MomTV movie 2003 The Lyon's Den Jack's Mother Episode: "The Quantum Theory"
Short subjects Short films Year Title Role Director Notes 1965 Flashes Festival Herself Charles Gérard Documentary 1970 The Spider
Documentaries Documentary subjects Year Title Role Notes 1975 James Dean: The First American Teenager Herself TV documentary 1987 Sex Symbols; Past, Present and Future Hollywood Uncensored 1997 Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western TV documentary 2002 Cinerama Adventure 2003 Time Machine: When Cowboys Were King TV documentary 2009 Western Legenden – Made in Hollywood
Stage credits
Stage performances Year Title Role Location Notes 1953 Escapade Molly 48th Street Theatre, New York City Broadway production; 13 performances A Hatful of Rain Actors Studio Workshop, New York City 1954 All Summer Long Ruth Booth Theatre, New York CityCoronet Theatre, Los Angeles Broadway; 60 performances 1958 Arms and the Man Chicago 1962 Come on Strong Virginia Karger Morosco Theatre, New York City Broadway; 36 performances 1966 Anna Christie Anna Christopherson Los Angeles 1967 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Los Angeles 1977 Rain Sadie Thompson London, England 1978 Bell, Book and Candle Atlanta, Georgia 1978 13 Rue de l'Amour Jacksonville, Florida 1979 Forty Carats Ann Stanley 1979 Lucy Crown Lucy London, England 1979 Goodbye Charlie Virginia Mason Chicago, Illinois 1980 Motive London, England 1981 Little Hut Canada
References