Kathy Baker

A versatile and appealing performer who excelled in both film and on television, actress Kathy Baker first made her presence known on the stage in several Sam Shepard productions before making her screen debut in "The Right Stuff" (1983). Baker earned widespread acclaim for her gritty performance in "Street Smart" (1987) before tackling a challenging part in the recovery drama "Clean and Sober" (1988). She turned to a more comedic role as a flirtatious housewife in "Edward Scissorhands" (1990) and eventually found her way onto television with a regular role as a small town doctor and wife to the sheriff on David E. Kelley's quirky drama "Picket Fences" (CBS, 1992-96). From there, Baker jumped back and forth between television and film, landing recurring roles on shows like "The Practice" (ABC, 1997-2004) and "Medium" (NBC/CBS, 2005-2011), while showing up in movies like "The Cider House Rules" (1999), "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her" (2001) and "Cold Mountain" (2003). She excelled in a number of small screen movies, earning award recognition for performances in "Door to Door" (2002), while delivering a quality turn in the critically acclaimed TV movie "Too Big to Fail" (HBO, 2011) and the Hollywood biopic "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013), as well as a sly comic presence on Ben Stiller's statirical TV series "Big Time Hollywood, FL" (Comedy Central 2015), all of which underscored the fact that Baker was one of the most talented character actresses working in the business.