Carroll Baker

Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American retired actress and author, known for her roles on both the big screen and Broadway. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. She was then recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in the film adaptation of two Tennessee Williams plays into the film Baby Doll in 1956. Her role in Baby Doll, as a coquettish but sexually naive Southern bride, earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Baker starred in critically acclaimed films such as Giant, The Big Country, and The Carpetbaggers. In spite of her Hollywood success, Baker faced legal disputes over her contract with Paramount which led to her moving to Italy where she starred in various giallo and horror films. She returned to the U.S in the late 1970s and shifted to character roles. Throughout her career, Baker also penned two autobiographies and two novels.

Baker was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to a Catholic family. She married thrice in her lifetime including director Jack Garfein, with whom she had two children. She actively participated in stage productions, and in the 1970s, while touring England and Ireland, she met stage actor Donald Burton, who became her third husband. She formally retired from acting in 2003. Among her long-spanning acting career and personal life, Baker imparted a significant cultural impact, notably through her performance in Baby Doll which sparked the cultural interest in the ingénue in American cinema.