Leading Ladies Diane Baker
Marnie/ Lil Mainwaring
The Diary Of Anne Frank/ Margot Frank
The 300 Spartans/ Elias
Journey To The Center Of The Earth/ Jenny Lindenbrook
Per Quinlan's Film Stars:
Demure, sensitive, pretty dark haired American actress capable of projecting great warmth, but not progressing beyond ingenue roles in films. She was often successful, strangely, as outward warm characters capable of great spite. as in Hitchcock's Marne. Nice to see her so busy in TV movies in the 1970's, but, in 1980 she became a producer. In the 1990's she returned to acting roles, looking considerably more mature.
She was born Diane Carol Baker, the daughter of Dorothy Helen Harrington, an actress who appeared in some early Marx Brothers films.
Ms. Baker was born at Hollywood, CA in 1938.
At the age of 18 she moved to New York to study acting with Charles Conrad and ballet with Nina Fonaroff.
After securing a film contract with 20th Century Fox, she made her film debut as Margot Frank in the film The Diary Of Anne Frank in 1959. She had been chosen by George Stevens to play this part.
She made several films with Fox and then after being out of contract with that studio, she then appeared in the film 300 Spartans.
Some of the film roles of Diane Baker were:
The Diary Of Anne Frank (1959) as Margot Frank
The Best Of Everything (1959) as April Morrison
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1959) as Jenny Lindenbrook
The Wizard Of Bagdad (1960) as Princess Yasmin
Tess Of The Storm Country (1960) as Tess McLean
Hemingway's Adventures Of A Young Man (1962) as Carolyn
The 300 Spartans (1962) as Elias
Nine Hours To Rama (1963) as Sheila
Summer Flight (1963) as Ellen
The Prize (1963) as Emily Stratman
Strait Jacket (1964) as Carol Harbin
Marnie (1964) as Lil Mainwaring
The Ghost Of Sierra de Cobre (1964-TV) as Viva Mandour
Della (1964) as Jenny Chapell
Mirage (1964) as Shela
Straitjacket (1964) as Carol Harbin
Inherit The Wind (1965-TV) as Rachel Brown
Thunder Over Israel (1966) as Susan
The Dangerous Days Of Kiowa Jones (1966-TV) as Amelia Rathbone
The Horse In The Gray Flannel Suit (1968) as Suzy Clemens
Krakatoa: East Of Java (1968) as Laura
Trial Run (1969-TV) as Carol Trenet
D. A. : Murder One (1969-TV) as Mary Brokow
The Old Man Who Cried Wolf (1970-TV) as Peggy Pulska
Do You Take This Stranger? (1971-TV) as Rachel Jarvis
A Little Game (1971-TV) as Elaine Hamilton
Killer By Night (1972-TV) as Tracey Morrow
Wheeler And Murdoch (1973-TV) as Karen
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1974-TV) as Katie Nolan
The Dream Makers (1975-TV) as Mary Stone
The Last Survivors (1975-TV) as Marilyn West
Baker's Hawk (1976) as Jenny Baker
Fugitive Family (1980-TV) as Ellie Roberts
The Pilot (1981) as Pat Simpson
The Blue & The Gray (1982-TV Miniseries) as Evelyn Hale
A Woman Of Substance (1985-TV Miniseries) as Laura O'Neill
The Closer (1990) as Beatrice Grant
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991) as Senator Ruth Martin
The Haunted (1991-TV) as Lorraine Warren
Perry Mason: The Case Of The Heartbroken Bride (1992-TV) as Laura Parrish
Twenty Bucks (1993) as Ruth Adams
The Joy Luck Club (1993) as Mrs. Jordan
Imaginary Crimes (1994) as Abigale Tate
A Walton Wedding (1995-TV) as Charlotte Gilchrist
The Net (1995) as Mrs. Bennett
The Cable Guy (1996) as Stephen's Mother
Courage Under Fire (1996) as Louise Boylar
Murder At 1600 (1997) as Kitty Neil
About Sarah (1998-TV) as Lila Hollingsworth
Harrison's Flowers (2000) as Mary Francis
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onasis (2000-TV) as Rose Kennedy
On The Roof (2002) as Mrs Arnott
A Mighty Wind (2003) as Supreme Folk Defense Lawyer
The Keeper: The Legend Of Omar Khayyam (2005) as Miss Taylor
Harrison Montgomery (2008) as Mrs. Cutsworth
Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) as Mrs. Gellhorn
The Surrogate (2013) as Louise
Ms. Baker appeared on television in such programs as Playhouse 90, The DuPont Show Of The Month, Bus Stop, Adventures In Paradise, Route 66, The Doctors And The Nurses, Mr. Novak, Wagon Train, Convoy, The Big Valley, Dr. Kildare, Hawk, The Invaders, The Fugitive, The FBI, Mission Impossible, The Name Of The Game, The Interns, The Virginian, Night Gallery, Bonanza, Love American Style, Medical Center, Love Story, Lucas Tanner, The Streets Of San Francisco, Marcus Welby MD, Police Woman, Colombo, Barnaby Jones, Police Story, Kojak, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Civil Wars, Murder She Wrote, Chicago Hope, The Nanny, ER, Law And Order-Special Victims Unit, Dragnet, Unscripted and House M D, among others.
Ms. Baker also moved into the producing area . She produced such films as Never Never Land (1980), the TV Miniseries A Woman Of Substance (1985) in which she played Laura., and Art School Of Horrors (2015) She also produced some episodes in various TV series.
Since 2004 she has been the director of the Motion Pictures and Television major at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Ms. Baker is still active and has not yet retired.
I enjoyed her in the films The Diary Of Anne Frank, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, Hemingway's Adventures Of A Young Man, The 300 Spartans, Strait Jacket and Marnie
Louie The Movie Buff.