Becky Ann Baker

Becky Ann Baker (née Gelke; born February 17, 1953^[1]) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles of Jean Weir on NBC comedy-drama series Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000) and Loreen Horvath on HBO comedy-drama series Girls (2012–2017); Girls earned two Critics' Choice Television Award nominations and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Becky Ann Baker
Born	Becky Ann Gelke (1953-02-17) February 17, 1953 (age 71) Fort Knox, Kentucky, U.S.
Other names	Becky Gelke
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1978–present
Spouse	Dylan Baker ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	1

Baker's film credits include Jacob's Ladder (1990), In & Out (1997), A Simple Plan (1998), Stay (2005), Nights in Rodanthe (2008), Hope Springs (2012), Table 19 (2017), The Half of It (2020), and Holler (2020).

Early life

Becky Ann Gelke was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, the daughter of a military officer. She graduated from West Springfield High School in Springfield, Virginia and Western Kentucky University.^[2]

Career

Baker's film credits include Blue Steel, Jacob's Ladder, Lorenzo's Oil, Unstrung Heroes, Sabrina, Ridley Scott's White Squall, Men in Black, In & Out, Woody Allen's Celebrity, Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan (for which she received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination), Two Weeks Notice, Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, Stay, The Night Listener, Death of a President, and Spider-Man 3.

She got her role in Freaks and Geeks after series creator Paul Feig and Judd Apatow saw her performance in Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan. "That really informed their decision to try to use me from having really no huge television experience," she said.^[3] In addition to Freaks and Geeks, her television credits include Stephen King's Storm of the Century and guest spots on L.A. Law, Frasier, Star Trek: Voyager, Sex and the City, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Oz and All My Children.

An accomplished stage performer, Baker made her Broadway debut in the 1981 production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and received a Drama-Logue Award in 1994 for her work in Night and Her Stars. She is a founding member of New York-based theatre company The Drama Dept.^[4]

In 2009, she appeared in the NBC series Kings, playing the minor role of Jessie Shepherd, mother of protagonist David Shepherd. Her real-life husband, Dylan Baker, played antagonist William Cross in the series.^[5]

Personal life

Baker has been married to actor Dylan Baker since 1990. They have a daughter.^[6][7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	The Protector	Samantha Alexander
1986	Agent on Ice	Mrs. Donnelli
1988	Full Moon in Blue Water	Dorothy
1989	Blue Steel	Nurse #1
1990	Come See the Paradise	Marge McGurn
	Jacob's Ladder	Nurse
1992	That Night	Mrs. Bell
	Lorenzo's Oil	Pellerman's Secretary
1995	Unstrung Heroes	Mrs. Harris
	Sabrina	Linda
1996	White Squall	Ms. Boyde
	I'm Not Rappaport	Nurse
1997	Bad Bosses Go to Hell	Architect Boss	Short film
	Men in Black	Mrs. Redgick
	In & Out	Darlene
1998	Celebrity	Doris
	A Simple Plan	Nancy Chambers
1999	The Confession	Nurse Jeannine Carrounbois
2002	Two Weeks Notice	RV Woman
2005	War of the Worlds	Disaster Relief Volunteer
	Tracks	'Frizzy'	Short film
	Stay	Paramedic #1 / Butch Cook
2006	The Night Listener	Waitress
	Gretchen	Lori Finkle
	Death of a President	Eleanor Drake
2007	Spider-Man 3	Mrs. Stacy
2008	Spinning Into Butter	Ruby
	Nights in Rodanthe	Dot
2012	Hope Springs	Cora
	The Discoverers	Mary
2013	23 Blast	Patty Wheatley
2015	The End of the Tour	Bookstore Manager
2017	Table 19	Carol Milner
2018	The Chaperone	Lois
2019	After Class	Mary
2020	The Half of It	Mrs. Geselschap
	Holler	Linda
2022	Alone Together	Jan	[8]
2024	Jackpot	Sweet Irene

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders	Carol Ann	TV movie
1990	She Said No	Gail	TV movie
1992	L.A. Law	Melinda Garrett	Episode: "Beauty and the Breast"
1995	Frasier	Marge	Episode: "Frasier Grinch"
1996	The Siege at Ruby Ridge	Elizabeth	TV movie
	Star Trek: Voyager	Ritual Guide	Episode: "Sacred Ground"
1998	Soul Man	Margo	Episode: "Little Black Dress"
1999	Storm of the Century	Ursula Godsoe	TV miniseries
1999–2000	Freaks and Geeks	Jean Weir	18 episodes
2000	Wonderland	Dr. Reeples	Episode: "Pilot"
2001	Sex and the City	Betsy	Episode: "My Motherboard, My Self"
2002	The Education of Max Bickford	Kathryn	Episode: "Money Changes Everything"
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mrs. Brice	Episode: "Juvenile"
	Law & Order	Susan Simels	Episode: "Oxymoron"
2003	Oz	Greta	Episode: "Exeunt Omnes"
2004–2005	Life as We Know It	Amanda Conner	4 episodes
2005	The Exonerated	Defense Attorney	TV movie
	Law & Order	Defense Attorney Carolyn Walters	Episode: "House of Cards"
2006	Conviction	Deborah Cole	Episode: "Downhill"
2007	All My Children	Marj Luper	3 episodes
2009	Important Things with Demetri Martin	Revenger's Mom	Episode: "Power"
	Kings	Jessie Shepherd	7 episodes
2010	The Electric Company	Natalie McNally	Episode: "Bananas"
	Mercy	Gianna	Episode: "There Is No Superwoman"
	Nurse Jackie	Elaine	Episode: "What the Day Brings"
2012	A Gifted Man	Mary Polanco	Episode: "In Case of a Bolt from the Blue"
	Smash	Mrs. Cartwright	Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "Enter Mr. DiMaggio"
2012–2016	The Good Wife	Alma Hoff	3 episodes
2012–2017	Girls	Loreen Horvath	Recurring; 20 episodes
2013	Person of Interest	Deputy Erica Schmidt	Episode: "Proteus"
	Elementary	Pam	Episode: "Snow Angels"
2014	Mind Games	Cathy Steward	Episode: "Asymmetric Dominance"
	Black Box	Eileen Giordano	Episode: "Emotion"
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Vivienne Patton	Episode: "Forgiving Rollins"
2015	Gotham	Marge	Episode: "Everyone Has a Cobblepot"
	Madam Secretary	Chancellor Frieda Schulz	Episode: "Spartan Figures"
	Last Week Tonight with John Oliver	Deborah	Episode: "Bail"
2016	Crisis in Six Scenes	Lee	2 episodes
2017	Doubt	Eloise Kirk	Episode: "Pilot"
	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Stacey	Episode: "Kimmy Googles the Internet!"
	The Night Shift	Lily Alister	Episode: "Turbulence"
	NCIS: New Orleans	Special Agent Paula Boyd	Episode: "Rogue Nation"
2017–2022	The Good Fight	Alma Hoff	3 episodes
2018–2019	Brockmire	Jean Brockmire Glasscock	4 episodes
2019	The Blacklist	Judge Roberta Wilkins	6 episodes
	Younger	Bronwyn Madigan	2 episodes
	Big Little Lies	Judge Marylin Cipriani	3 episodes
2020	Little America	Mrs. Wren	Episode: "The Manager"
	Manhunt	Patricia Rudolph	2 episodes
	Katy Keene	June Kelly	Episode: "Chapter Two: You Can't Hurry Love"
	Hunters	Juanita Kreps	4 episodes
	Council of Dads	Grandma	2 episodes
	Little Voice	Elaine	2 episodes
	Social Distance	Carolyn Currier	Episode: "Humane Animal Trap"
2021	New Amsterdam	Gwen Bennett	5 episodes
	Billions	Brenda	2 episodes
2022	Would I Lie to You?	Herself	Episode: "Show Goat"
	The Resort	Jan Knowlston	Recurring role
2023	Ted Lasso	Dottie Lasso	Episode: "Mom City"
2024	The Girls on the Bus	Norah McCarthy	2 episodes
	Elsbeth	Judith	Episode: “Elsbeth’s Eleven”

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978–1982	The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas	Various	Jun 1978 – Mar 1982
1982	The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas	Doatsey Mae	May 1982 – Jul 1982
1988	A Streetcar Named Desire	Eunice Hubbell	Mar 1988 – May 1988
1990	The Colorado Catechism	Donna	Oct 1990 – Nov 1990
1994	Durang/Durang	Ma / Wanda	Nov 1994
1995	Laura Dennis	Lena Abernathy	Mar 1995 – Apr 1995
1997–1999	Titanic	Charlotte Cardoza	Apr 1997 – Mar 1999
1998	June Moon	Lucille	Jan 1998 – Mar 1998
1998–1999	The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told	Jane	Dec 1998 – May 1999
2001	The Vagina Monologues	N/A	Feb 2001 – Apr 2001
	Othello	Emilia	Dec 2001
2003	Shanghai Moon	Mrs. Carroll/Sir Geoffrey	Jan 2003 – Mar 2003
2004	Assassins	Sara Jane Moore	Apr 2004 – Jul 2004
2006	The House in Town	Jean Eliot	Jun 2006 – Jul 2006
2006–2007	Suddenly Last Summer	Mrs. Holly	Nov 2006 – Jan 2007
2008	Show Boat	Parthy Ann Hawks	Jun 2008
2008–2009	All My Sons	Sue Bayliss	Oct 2008 – Jan 2009
2009	The Torch-Bearers	Mrs. Ritter	Aug 2009
2011	Good People	Jean	Mar 2011 – May 2011
2012	Merrily We Roll Along	Mary Flynn	Mar 2012
	Assassins	Sara Jane Moore	Dec 2012
2012–2013	The Great God Pan	Cathy	Dec 2012 – Jan 2013
2013	The Comedy of Errors	Abbess	May 2013 – June 2013
2015	Barbecue	Lillie Anne	Oct 2015 – Nov 2015
	Dear Elizabeth	Elizabeth	Oct 2015 – Dec 2015
2016	Peer Gynt	The Mother	May 2016 – Jun 2016
2017	The Hairy Ape	Mildred's Aunt	Mar 2017 – Apr 2017
2018	Cardinal	Nancy Prenchel	Jan 2018 – Feb 2018

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Project	Result	Ref.
1998	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Supporting Actress – Suspense	A Simple Plan	Nominated
2012	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series	Girls	Nominated	[9]
2015				Nominated	[10]
2017	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (episode: Gummies)		Won	[11]
2023		Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (episode: Mom City)	Ted Lasso	Nominated	[12]

References

1. "Horoscopes: Today's Birthdays". Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. February 17, 2024. p. A12. ProQuest 2928409939. Actor Christina Pickles is 89. Actor Brenda Fricker is 79. Actor Becky Ann Baker is 71. Actor Rene Russo is 70. Actor Richard Karn is 68. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 62. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 61. See also:

   • "Today's Birthdays". The Boston Globe. February 17, 2009. p. B6. ProQuest 2182037701. Actress Christina Pickles is 84. Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown is 83. Actress Brenda Fricker is 74. Actress Becky Ann Baker is 66. Actress Rene Russo is 65. Actor Richard Karn is 63. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 57. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 56.
2. Francis, Catrina (August 31, 2017). "Fort Knox native Becky Ann Baker receives Primetime Emmy nomination for role in HBO's 'Girls'". The Gold Standard.
3. "Interview: Becky Ann Baker on Her Career, Audition Tips and the New Short, 'Nightfire'". Daily Actor. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
4. Drama Dept. dramadept.org
5. "How Dylan Baker and Becky Ann Baker Became Mr. and Mrs. Character Actor". Retrieved October 25, 2017.
6. Alter, Ethan (April 19, 2017). "How Dylan Baker and Becky Ann Baker Became Mr. and Mrs. Character Actor". Yahoo!.
7. Haun, Harry (January 23, 2018). "Becky Ann Baker on Playing the Mom Role and Why She Never Watched Herself on 'Girls'". Observer.
8. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 4, 2021). "Katie Holmes Wraps Second Film As Director, Connecticut-Set Romance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
9. "Critics' Choice TV Awards Noms: 'Community' At Top Of List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
10. "The Critics' Choice TV Awards 2015: And the nominees are..." Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
11. "Emmys 2017: The Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
12. "Emmys 2023: The Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2024.

External links

• Becky Ann Baker at IMDb