Carroll Baker
Biography
Carroll Baker is a retired American actress who was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She trained at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and began performing on Broadway in 1954. Director Elia Kazan cast her in Baby Doll (1956), which brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. She went on to appear in Giant (1956), the independent film Something Wild (1961), and Westerns including The Big Country (1958) and How the West Was Won (1962). In the mid-1960s she starred in The Carpetbaggers (1964) and as Jean Harlow in Harlow (1965). After moving to Italy in 1966, she spent a decade in giallo and horror films such as So Sweet... So Perverse (1969). She later returned to American films with Bad (1977) and appeared in Star 80 (1983), Ironweed (1987), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and The Game (1997). She retired in 2003 and has written autobiographies and novels.
95years old
Turns 96 on May 28in 228 days
- Born Johnstown
- Star sign: GeminiThe sign runs May 21 to June 20
- Also credited as Karolina Piekarski
Movie Career
- Films
- 21
- Career span
- 44 years1956 to 2000
First and latest
Photos
Share
Did you know?!
A role that slipped away
Baker lost the lead in Picnic to Kim Novak, and turned down the lead in Rebel Without a Cause even though James Dean had recommended her to director Nicholas Ray.
Early training
Baker studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, where her classmates included Mike Nichols, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ben Gazzara and Marilyn Monroe.
Languages
Baker became fluent in Italian after settling in Rome, where she spent years starring in giallo, exploitation and horror films.
First role
Baker's first major screen role came in Giant, playing the supporting part of Luz Benedict II. She turned down several leading film parts before that because she felt insecure and wanted a less prominent debut.
Behind the camera
Baker's autobiography, Baby Doll: An Autobiography, came out in 1983. It described her life and acting work and revealed the problems with Paramount and Warner Bros. that made her leave for Europe in the 1970s.
Carroll Baker movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
George Stevens directed two of these films, John Ford two. Two actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Karl Malden's page
Sal Mineo's page
James Stewart's page
Roddy McDowall's page
Charlton Heston's page
Angela Lansbury's page
All films by George Stevens
All films by John Ford
Also two films together11 more actors
- Gregory PeckHow the West Was Won (1962) and The Big Country (1958)
- Eli WallachHow the West Was Won (1962) and Baby Doll (1956)
- Richard WidmarkCheyenne Autumn (1964) and How the West Was Won (1962)
- Martin BalsamHarlow (1965) and The Carpetbaggers (1964)
- Arthur KennedyCyclone (1978) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
- Ian BannenThe Watcher in the Woods (1980) and Station Six-Sahara (1963)
- José FerrerHitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (1985) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
- David McCallumThe Watcher in the Woods (1980) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
- George PeppardThe Carpetbaggers (1964) and How the West Was Won (1962)
- Charles WattsSomething Wild (1961) and Giant (1956)
- Mildred DunnockSomething Wild (1961) and Baby Doll (1956)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Carroll Baker's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$422 million
11 of the 21 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 21 films: 11 worldwide figure; 1 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 7 figure not found.
- 11Worldwide figure
- 1US gross only
- 2Never in cinemas
- 7Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 99% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$202M47.8% of the total
- 2$109M25.9% of the total
- 3$40M9.5% of the total
- 4$33M7.8% of the total
- 5$16M3.7% of the total
- 6$7.3M1.7% of the total
- 7$6.5M1.5% of the total
- 8$5.0M1.2% of the total
$3.6 millionfrom the other 3 films with a worldwide figure, 1% of the total
Awards
Three awards and honors from 1957 to 1960, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Globes | |||
| Awards | Won | ||
| Other honors | |||
| 1960 | Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | |
| 1957 | Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.