Sarah Baker (actress)
Sarah Baker | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 30 [1] Washington D.C., U.S. |
| Education | James Madison University |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian |
| Years active | 2002–present |
Sarah Baker is an American actress and comedian, best known for roles in movies such as The Campaign and Mascots and TV shows like The Kominsky Method and Louie.
Life and career
Baker was born in the Washington, D.C. area and raised in Springfield, Virginia. After graduating from James Madison University with a double major in Theater and English, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia. There, she helped build Whole World Improv Theatre as a performer, and later as a teacher. Moving to Los Angeles, she continued to hone her improvisational and sketch comedy skills at The Groundlings.[2]
In 2012, Baker appeared as Mitzi Huggins, wife of Zach Galifianakis' congressional candidate, along with Will Ferrell, in the comedy The Campaign. The Jay Roach-directed film is the highest grossing politically themed movie of all time.[3] In 2014, she played Becky in Tammy, starring Melissa McCarthy, and directed by Ben Falcone. Baker has also appeared as Pamela Lowi in The Good Lie, about the Lost Boys of Sudan, which was directed by Philippe Falardeau (director of the Oscar-nominated Monsieur Lazhar).[4] In 2015, she appeared in Barry Levinson's Rock the Kasbah, alongside Bill Murray.
In 2016, she was in a number of films, including Christopher Guest's Mascots where she played Mindy Murray, aka Tammy the Turtle. Other movies released in 2016 include The Meddler, starring Susan Sarandon and directed by Lorene Scafaria, where Baker played Elaine. Baker also appeared opposite Shirley MacLaine in The Last Word and in the film adaptation of the acclaimed Speech & Debate, playing Ms. Riggi. In 2018, she appeared as Gildred in Melissa McCarthy's Life of the Party, and co-starred in Paul Feig's A Simple Favor.
On television, Baker was seen as series regular Sonia on the NBC comedy Go On, starring Matthew Perry, as a support group member dealing with the loss of her cat.[5] In 2017, she played the recurring role of Thea Cunningham on HBO's limited series Big Little Lies, based on the popular book of the same name.[6]
She also appeared as Vanessa on the FX show Louie;[7][8][9][10] this performance was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series.[11] Entertainment Weekly included the performance in its "50 Best TV Scenes" of 2014,[12] and later nominated the performance for one of their annual "EWwy Awards."[13] The performance was included on numerous year-end "best of" lists for 2014, including NPR's "50 Wonderful Things from 2014".[14] This role later led to Baker's performance as Trinity on Pamela Adlon's Better Things in 2016, in an episode written by Adlon and Louis CK.[15]
Other TV appearances have included guest and recurring roles on shows such as A to Z, Bob's Burgers, Bones, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Crazy Ones, Ghosted, Graves, Great News, In the Motherhood, Kath & Kim, Key & Peele, Mike & Molly, Modern Family, New Girl, The Office (U.S. version), Santa Clarita Diet, Sean Saves the World, as well as her favorite guest appearance on a TV show, Comedy Bang! Bang![16] In 2018, Baker appeared in the acclaimed "Kill All Others" episode of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, alongside Mel Rodriguez.[17] Baker appears in the DVD/Blu-ray bonus scenes of the hit comedy Bridesmaids, as a nurse arguing with an injured Paul Rudd. Online, she was seen as Arabella, faithful servant to Megan Mullally in the Funny or Die video Home for Actresses.[18]
Baker is a regular in the Netflix series The Kominsky Method, alongside Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as Mindy, Douglas' character's daughter.[19] After winning a Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series, the show was renewed for a second season in January 2019.[20]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Sweet Home Alabama | Dix | |
| 2011 | Bridesmaids | Skating Rink Nurse | Deleted scene |
| Home for Actresses | Arabella | Funny or Die short | |
| 2012 | The Campaign | Mitzi Huggins | |
| 2014 | The Good Lie | Pamela | |
| Tammy | Becky | ||
| 2015 | Rock the Kasbah | Maureen | |
| 2016 | The Meddler | Elaine | |
| Brother Nature | Shannon | ||
| Mascots | Mindy Murray | ||
| 2017 | The Last Word | Zoe | |
| Speech & Debate | Ms. Riggi | ||
| 2018 | Life of the Party | Gildred | |
| A Simple Favor | Maryanne Chelkowsky | ||
| Smallfoot | Soozie's Mom (voice) | ||
| 2019 | The Death of Dick Long | Officer Dudley | |
| 2020 | Superintelligence | Emily |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Lance Krall Show | Various | Main cast | |
| 2008 | Kath & Kim | Marjorie | Episode: "Sacrifice" | |
| 2008–2009 | Free Radio | Emo Sarah | Main cast | |
| 2009 | In the Motherhood | Doris | 2 episodes | |
| 2010 | The Office | Josie | Episode: "The Delivery" | |
| 2010 | Good Luck Charlie | Carla | Episode: "Charlie Is 1" | |
| 2011 | In Gayle We Trust | Smith | 10 webisodes | |
| 2011 | Bones | Kim | Episode: "The Truth in the Myth" | |
| 2012–2018 | Modern Family | Twins' Mom / Shirl Chambers | 3 episodes | |
| 2012–2013 | Go On | Sonia | Recurring episodes 1–13; main cast episode 14 onwards | |
| 2013 | Sean Saves the World | Tippy | Episode: "Best Friends for Never" | |
| 2014 | The Crazy Ones | Jean | Episode: "Love Sucks" | |
| 2014 | Louie | Vanessa | Episode: "So Did the Fat Lady" | |
| 2014 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Allison | Episode: "State Legislatures and ALEC" | |
| 2014–2019 | Bob's Burgers | Rena, Ms. Selbo, Bethany, and Jacob (voice) | 7 episodes | |
| 2015 | A to Z | Jennifer | Episode: "J Is for Jan Vaughan" | |
| 2015 | Mike & Molly | Stacey | Episode: "The Last Temptation of Mike" | |
| 2015 | Other Space | Alien | 3 episodes | |
| 2015 | Key & Peele | Barista | Episode: "MC Mom" | |
| 2015 | Married | Mindy | Episode: "Mother's Day" | |
| 2015 | Fresh Off the Boat | Gator Carol | Episode: "Family Business Trip" | |
| 2015 | Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell | Wendy | Episode: "Heaven" | |
| 2015 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Molly Gibson (voice) | Episode: "A Plaintive Wail" | |
| 2015–2016 | TripTank | Various voices | 3 episodes | |
| 2016 | Workaholics | Sara | Episode: "Death of a Salesdude" | |
| 2016 | Idiotsitter | Virginia | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Grace and Frankie | Gretchen | Episode: "The Anchor" | |
| 2016 | Goliath | Lily Suzanne Daniels | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Better Things | Trinity | Episode: "Duke's Chorus" | |
| 2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Al's Mom | Episode: "Allison Janney Wears a Chambray Western Shirt and Suede Fringe Boots" | |
| 2017 | Sofia the First | Woman in the Portrait (voice) | Episode: "Hexley Hall" | |
| 2017 | Big Little Lies | Thea Cunningham | 6 episodes | |
| 2017 | Foursome | Principal Slacks | Episode: "The Big Finish" | |
| 2017 | Dr. Ken | Kylie | Episode: "Ken's Professor" | |
| 2017 | Great News | Joyce Vickley | 3 episodes | |
| 2017–2018 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Kylie | 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Ghosted | Deb | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2017 | Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams | Maggie Noyce | Episode: "Kill All Others" | |
| 2017 | Graves | Becky Keegan | 2 episodes | |
| 2017–2020 | Young Sheldon | Ms. Sheryl Hutchins | Recurring; 10 episodes | |
| 2018 | Santa Clarita Diet | Ruby Sanders | 2 episodes | |
| 2018 | New Girl | Judith | Episode: "Mario" | |
| 2018 | I Feel Bad | Anna Mae | Episode: "I Need My Mom" | |
| 2018–present | The Kominsky Method | Mindy Kominsky | Regular | |
| 2019–2020 | Harvey Girls Forever! | Irona (voice) | 8 episodes | |
| 2019 | Life in Pieces | Eve | Episode: "Four Short Fairy Tales" | |
| 2020 | The Conners | Helen | Episode: "Mud Turtles, A Good Steak and One Man in a Tub" | |
| 2020 | Will & Grace | Cathy | Episode: "New Crib" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 4th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
| 11th Gold Derby Awards | Best Comedy Guest Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Kominsky Method | Nominated |
| 2019 | 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Kominsky Method | Nominated |
References
- ^ "The Pragmatic Jokers Bios". EarWolf. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
- ^ "Set Visit: The Campaign". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ Pomerantz, Dorothy. "Election Special: 'The Campaign' Is The Top Campaign Movie". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
- ^ Yamato, Jen. "Corey Stoll, Sarah Baker, Sudanese Lost Boys Cast In 'The Good Lie'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "Sarah Baker upped to Regular on NBC's Comedy Series'Go On'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ Petski, Denise. (January 5, 2016) Alexander Skarsgard, James Tupper & More Join ‘Big Little Lies’ Archived April 18, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Deadline. Retrieved on 2016-09-09.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen. "'Louie' Review: FX Series As Weird And Wonderful As Ever". Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ^ Johnson, Jessica. "Louie, Season Four Review". Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ^ Lowry, Brian. "TV Review: Louie". Archived from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ Cabin, Chris. "Louie: Season Four". Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ^ "Broadcast TV Journalists Association Unveils Critics' Choice Television Awards Nominees". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
- ^ EW Staff. "The 50 Best TV Scenes of The Past Year". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ "2014 EWwy Awards: Comedy Nominees Are..." Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ Holmes, Linda. "50 Wonderful Things from 2014". NPR. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
- ^ Liebman, Lisa. ""Sarah Baker on Reuniting with Pamela Adlon"". Vulture. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ^ "The Pragmatic Jokers". Earwolf.com.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen (January 11, 2018). "TV Review: 'Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams' on Amazon". Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- ^ "Home for Actresses". Funny or Die. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
- ^ Petski, Denise (January 19, 2018). "'The Kominsky Method': Sarah Baker Joins Netflix Comedy As Series Regular, Seven More Cast". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 17, 2019). "'The Kominsky Method' Renewed For Season 2 By Netflix". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
