Early life and education

Born Blanche Garfein in New York City, she is the daughter of actress Carroll Baker and director Jack Garfein. Her father is a Czech Jew, who survived the Holocaust; and her mother converted to Judaism. Baker attended Wellesley College from 1974 to 1976, and later studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio, the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, and the American School in London.

Career

Television

Blanche Baker made her television debut playing the character Anna Weiss in the miniseries Holocaust. (Her father Jack Garfein was a Holocaust survivor who had been imprisoned in Auschwitz. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series in 1978 for her performance.

She has subsequently appeared in the TV movies Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith (1979) as Mary, The Day the Bubble Burst (1982), The Awakening of Candra (1983) as Candra Torres, Embassy (1985), Nobody's Child (1986), and Taking Chance (2009). She also has appeared on many TV series.

Broadway

In 1980-81, she originated the lead role in Edward Albee's stage adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. During out-of-town tryouts and in New York, the play was picketed by feminists, including Women Against Pornography, who were outraged by the theme of pedophilia.

The troubled production opened on Broadway on March 19, 1981, after 31 previews and closed after only 12 performances. Frank Rich of the New York Times gave the play a bad review, terming it "the kind of embarrassment that audiences do not quickly forget or forgive." Baker was mentioned by Rich in only one line. "In the title role, here a minor figure, the 24-year-old Miss Baker does a clever job of impersonating the downy nymphet; she deserves a more substantial stage vehicle soon."

People Magazine called Albee's Lolita "Broadway's Bomb of the Year" in an April 16, 1981, story. Baker was the real subject of the article, and People writer Mark Donovan said "the critics were almost unanimous on one point: Blanche Baker was an ingenue whose time had come," citing reviews of critics that had called her "breathtaking" and "beguiling."

However, despite the praise of critics, Baker has never appeared on Broadway again.

Film

Baker made her movie debut in the The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979). Other film appearances include Sixteen Candles (1984), Cold Feet (1984) and Taking Chance (2009).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	French Postcards	Laura
1979	Seduction of Joe Tynan, TheThe Seduction of Joe Tynan	Janet
1982	The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet	Juliet
1983	Cold Feet	Leslie Christo
1984	Sixteen Candles	Ginny
1986	Raw Deal	Amy Kaminski
1988	Shakedown	Gail Feinberger
1988	Bum Rap	Lisa DuSoir
1990	Handmaid's Tale, TheThe Handmaid's Tale	Ofglen
1991	Livin' Large	Kate Penndragin
1994	Dead Funny	Barbara
2006	Underdogs	Marie
2006	Rehearsal, TheThe Rehearsal	Marie
2007	Girl Next Door, TheThe Girl Next Door	Ruth Chandler
2008	3rd of July	Mrs. Shaw
2008	Jersey Justice	Polly O'Bannon
2012	Hypothermia	Hellen Pelletier
2014	Wishin' and Hopin'	Sister Filomena	TV Movie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Holocaust	Anna Weiss	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1979	Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith	Mary
1981	Awakening of Candra, TheThe Awakening of Candra	Candra Torres
1982	Day the Bubble Burst, TheThe Day the Bubble Burst	Joan Slezsak
1985	Equalizer, TheThe Equalizer	Allison Webster	Episode: "Desperately"
1985	Embassy	Megan Hillyer
1986	Nobody's Child	Shari
1987	Spenser: For Hire	Carolyn Tomlinson	Episode: "Personal Demons"
1991	Trials of Rosie O'Neill, TheThe Trials of Rosie O'Neill		Episode: "Domestic Silence"
1991	Davis Rules		Episode: "Everybody Comes to Nick's"
1992	In the Heat of the Night	Jenny Sawyer	Episode: "Love, Honor & Obey"
1992	Law & Order	Lucy Neven	Episode: "Star Struck"
1994	Clarissa Explains It All	Chelsea Chipley	Episode: "Janet and Clarissa, Inc."
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Miriam Engles	Episode: "Diamond Dogs"
2013	The Chris Gethard Show	Herself	Episode: "#119: Scare the Shit Out of Bethany"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]