Ex-mother-in-law of Bruce Van Dusen.
Her trouble with Warner Bros. continued when she declined to act in a series of movies based on books by pulp writer Erskine Caldwell. This led to her losing out on outside offers to do The Three Faces of Eve (1957) for 20th Century-Fox, and both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and The Brothers Karamazov (1958) for MGM.
Measurements: 35B-24-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).
Miss Florida Fruits & Vegetables of 1949.
Mother of Blanche Baker and Herschel Garfein.
Polish-American.
Received a career Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2011 Hoboken International Film Festival.
Though it may only be studio hype, in 1964 an African Masai chieftain reportedly was so fascinated by Baker that he offered 150 cows, 200 goats and sheep, and $750 for her while she was on location in Kenya for Mister Moses (1965).
To raise money for her tuition at the Actors Studio, she became a nightclub dancer.
When she refused to play a nymphomaniac in the trashy Too Much, Too Soon (1958), Warner Bros. refused to loan her out to appear opposite Laurence Olivier, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in The Devil's Disciple (1959).
While in Hollywood to test for Giant (1956), director Nicholas Ray met with her on James Dean's suggestion to discuss playing the Natalie Wood role in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Baker's new husband Jack Garfein insisted that she return to New York once the test was shot, and negotiations were broken off.