Anne Baxter was born in Michigan City, Indiana, on May 7, 1923. She was the daughter of a salesman and his wife, Catherine, who herself was the daughter of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. At 11 the family moved to New York City. Anne then considered becoming an actress and by the time she was 13 she had already appeared in a stage production and received good reviews. After attending acting school Anne made her first foray into Hollywood in 1937. She was thought to be too young for a film career, and returned to the New York City with her mother, where she continued to act in Broadway and summer stock up and down the East Coast. Undaunted by the failure of her previous effort to crack Hollywood, Anne returned to California two years later to try again. She took a screen test which was ultimately seen by the moguls of Twentieth Century-Fox and she was signed to a seven-year contract. However, before she would make a movie with Fox, Anne was loaned out to MGM to make “20 Mule Team” (1940). Back at Fox, that same year, Anne played Mary Maxwell in “The Great Profile” (1940), which was a box-office dud. The following year she played Amy Spettigue in the remake of “Charley's Aunt” (1941). The other film job Anne appeared in that year was in “Swamp Water” (1941). In 1942 Anne played Joseph Cotten's daughter, Lucy Morgan, in “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1942). The following year she appeared in “The North Star” (1943), where she received top billing. The film was a critical and financial success. But “Guest in the House” (1944) was a dismal failure; “Sunday Dinner for a Soldier” (1944) was received much better by the public. Anne starred with John Hodiak, who would become her first husband in 1947 (Anne would divorce Hodiak in 1953. Her other two husbands were Randolph Galt and David Klee). In 1946 Anne portrayed Sophie MacDonald in “The Razor's Edge” (1946), for which she received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. It would be 1950 before she landed another decent role as Eve Harrington in “All About Eve” (1950). This film garnered Anne her second Academy Award nomination, but she lost to Judy Holliday for “Born Yesterday” (1950). After several films through the 1950s, Anne landed the role of Queen Nefretiri in Cecil B. DeMille's “The Ten Commandments” (1956). After that epic, job offers became fewer as she opted to freelance her talents. After no appearances in 1958, she made one film in 1959 “Season of Passion” (1960) and one in 1960 “Cimarron”. After “Walk on the Wild Side” (1962), she took a hiatus from filming for the next four years, appearing instead on stage and television. She wasn't particularly concerned with being a celebrity or a personality. In 1966 she took the lead role in her only Euro-western “The Tall Women”. After several notable TV appearances, Anne became a staple of two television series, "East of Eden" (1981) and "Hotel" (1983). Her final moment before the public eye was as Irene Adler in the TV film Sherlock Holmes and the TV film “Masks of Death” (1984). On December 12, 1985, Anne died of a stroke in New York City. She was only 62.
BAXTER, Anne [5/7/1923, Michigan City, Indiana, U.S.A. - 12/12/1985, New York City, New York, U.S.A. (stroke)] - producer, singer, TV actress, granddaughter of architect Frank Lloyd Wright [1867-1959], married to John Hodiak [1914-1955] (1946-1953), mother of actress Katrina Hodiak [1951- ].
The Tall Women - 1966 (Mary Anne)
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