Carroll Baker Net Worth

What is Carroll Baker's Net Worth?

Carroll Baker is a retired American actress who has a net worth of $1 million.

Carroll Baker became one of Hollywood's most provocative young stars through her Academy Award-nominated performance in Elia Kazan's 1956 film "Baby Doll." The controversial Tennessee Williams adaptation established Baker as both a serious dramatic actress and a major screen sex symbol.

Baker appeared in several of the era's biggest productions, including "Giant," "The Big Country," "How the West Was Won," "The Carpetbaggers," "Cheyenne Autumn," "The Greatest Story Ever Told," and "Harlow." After a damaging contract dispute interrupted her Hollywood career during the 1960s, she relocated to Europe and reinvented herself as a leading actress in Italian thrillers, horror films, and crime dramas.

Baker eventually returned to American productions, earning supporting roles in "Star 80," "Native Son," "Ironweed," "Kindergarten Cop," and David Fincher's "The Game." Her career encompassed Broadway, television, international cinema, and more than five decades of screen acting. She also published an autobiography, a travel memoir, and a novel.

Early Life

Carroll Baker was born on May 28, 1931, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Edith Gertrude Baker and traveling salesman William Watson Baker. Her parents separated when she was eight, and she moved with her mother and younger sister to Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania. The family experienced financial difficulties during much of her childhood.

After high school, Baker moved with her family to St. Petersburg, Florida, and attended St. Petersburg Junior College for a year. She subsequently worked as a professional dancer, nightclub performer, chorus girl, and magician's assistant.

Baker moved to New York City in the early 1950s and studied acting at HB Studio and the Actors Studio. She trained under Lee Strasberg alongside performers such as Marilyn Monroe, Ben Gazzara, Shelley Winters, and Rod Steiger.

Broadway and "Baby Doll"

Baker made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1953 production "Escapade." She subsequently appeared in "All Summer Long," where her performance attracted the attention of film director Elia Kazan.

After an uncredited appearance in the 1953 musical "Easy to Love," Baker received a supporting role in George Stevens' epic drama "Giant." She played the grown daughter of the characters portrayed by Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor.

Kazan then selected Baker for the title role in "Baby Doll," adapted by Tennessee Williams from two of his one-act plays. Baker portrayed Baby Doll Meighan, a childlike young bride trapped in a troubled marriage to an unsuccessful cotton-gin owner played by Karl Malden.

The film's suggestive advertising and sexual themes generated protests and condemnation from religious organizations. The controversy helped make Baker internationally famous. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama, and a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year.

Hollywood Career

Following "Baby Doll," Baker appeared opposite Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, and Jean Simmons in the Western epic "The Big Country." She went on to star in "The Miracle" and the Clark Gable comedy "But Not for Me."

In 1961, Baker delivered one of her most challenging performances in "Something Wild," directed by her then-husband, Jack Garfein. She played a college student struggling with trauma after being sexually assaulted. Baker also starred in "Bridge to the Sun," based on the true story of an American woman married to a Japanese diplomat during World War II.

Her other major films from the period included the desert drama "Station Six-Sahara" and the sprawling Western "How the West Was Won." In 1964, she appeared in "The Carpetbaggers" as Rina Marlowe, a character partly inspired by Jean Harlow. She followed it with "Sylvia," John Ford's "Cheyenne Autumn," and the biblical epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told."

Baker portrayed Harlow herself in the 1965 biographical drama "Harlow." Although heavily promoted, the film received poor reviews. Her relationship with producer Joseph E. Levine and Paramount Pictures deteriorated, leading to a contentious contract dispute. Baker sued to escape her agreement, and the studio terminated her contract.

European Films

With her Hollywood opportunities severely limited, Baker moved to Europe with her children during the late 1960s. She settled in Rome, learned Italian, and began a second career in European cinema.

Baker became particularly associated with Italian giallo films, a genre blending mystery, horror, crime, and erotic suspense. Her films from this period included "Her Harem," "The Sweet Body of Deborah," "So Sweet… So Perverse," "Orgasmo," "A Quiet Place to Kill," "The Devil Has Seven Faces," and "Knife of Ice."

The European productions allowed Baker to continue working as a leading actress rather than accepting smaller supporting parts in Hollywood. She also appeared in films made in Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

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Return to American Film and Television

Baker returned to American cinema with a role in the 1977 black comedy "Andy Warhol's Bad." She later portrayed the domineering mother of Playboy model Dorothy Stratten in Bob Fosse's 1983 drama "Star 80."

Her later film credits included "Native Son," "Ironweed," "Kindergarten Cop," and "The Game." In "Kindergarten Cop," she played the mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character's criminal target. In "The Game," she portrayed the housekeeper employed by Michael Douglas' wealthy investment banker.

Baker also made guest appearances on television series including "Murder, She Wrote," "L.A. Law," and "Roswell." She largely retired from acting during the early 2000s.

Books

In 1983, Baker published "Baby Doll: An Autobiography," which chronicled her childhood, marriages, Hollywood career, and conflicts with the studio system. She followed it with the travel memoir "To Africa with Love" and the novel "A Roman Tale."

Personal Life

Carroll Baker has been married three times. Her brief first marriage to hotel owner Louie Ritter ended in 1953.

In 1955, she married director and acting teacher Jack Garfein, a Holocaust survivor whom she met at the Actors Studio. Baker converted to Judaism before their marriage. They had two children: actress Blanche Baker and composer Herschel Garfein. Carroll and Jack separated during the 1960s and divorced in 1969.

Baker married British actor Donald Burton in 1982. They remained together until his death from emphysema in 2007.

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