Jenni Baird

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Jenni Baird
Jenni Baird at WonderCon 2009.JPG
Baird features at Wondercon on behalf of the movie Alien Trespass (2009)
Born (1976-04-29) April 29, 1976 (age 49)
NationalityAustralian
Education Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (1999)
OccupationActress
Years active1999–present
Notable work All Saints
A Place to Call Home
The 4400
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)

Jenni Baird (born 29 April 1976) is an Australian actress, which has appeared in several high-profile television series including in All Saints , A Place to Call Home and The 4400 , and in Australian movies Alien Trespass and Backtrack .

Contents

Early life

Baird attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in 1999. She then participated in the 1999 edition of the ANPC/Stages Young Playwrights Weekend.

Career

Following her graduation from WAAPA, Baird made her debut in the Australian short film I Promise. In 2000, she appeared in the movie Metropolis playing Charlotte, and the following year, appeared in the TV soap drama Crash Palace as Chris Stanford.

Baird got her lucky break when she was cast in the long running, award-winning medical drama All Saints , appearing as the main character of Paula Morgan. She made her debut on the show on 6 November 2001, in the episode "A Little Death". [1] After starring in over fifty episodes, her final appearance was in the episode "Bad Pennies" on 27 April 2004. [2] When the series ended, her character also appeared prominently in the "Final Farewell Trailer" which featured recaps from across the entire show. [3]

Baird made her American debut in the 2005 film Global Frequency , in which she starred as Dr. Katrina Finch. It was originally a pilot episode, but as the decision was ultimately made not to produce a series, it was treated as a television movie. Baird also appeared in the television drama movie Conviction and in a 2006 episode of the police mystery drama Justice as Linda Wallis. [4]

In 2007, Baird was cast in a main role in the fourth season of the Primetime Emmy-nominated American TV show The 4400 . She appeared in her first episode ("The Wrath of Graham") on 17 June 2007 [5] as Meghan Doyle. [6] After the broadcast of season 4, the show was unexpectedly cancelled. [7]

After a year's hiatus, Baird starred in the 2009 Australian comedy sci-fi film Alien Trespass . Entertainment Weekly described Baird's main character, Tammy, as someone who "thinks on her feet". [8] Baird appeared at WonderCon in 2009 to talk about the film. [9]

In 2012, Baird appeared as guest star in the American television series GCB as Mikki.

In 2013, Baird was cast in Bevan Lee's Australian television drama A Place to Call Home as Regina Standish, initially intended as a guest role. [10] She made her first appearance in the episode "Cane Toad" which was awarded an Australian Cinematographers Society Award of Distinction. She subsequently appeared in five episodes, before returning in season two as a recurring character. Following the second season, the series was cancelled by the Seven Network, however, a third season was produced and aired on Foxtel. [11] It premiered in 2015 with Baird returning to the show as a main character. [12] The same year, Baird appeared on the TV Week list of 'The Top 10 Aussie Villains'. [13] [14]

After starring in the 2015 Australian thriller/mystery drama film Backtrack , [15] Baird resumed her role in A Place to Call Home when the series was renewed for a fourth season. It premiered in September 2016. [12] Her portrayal of Regina Standish earned Baird a 2016 Silver Logie Award nomination for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress. [16] [17] The same year, Baird appeared on the cover of the Australian newspaper The Guide, in an article titled "How costumes complete A Place to Call Home". [18] The show was renewed yet again, and a fifth series began filming in February 2017, [19] airing that same year.

While working on A Place to Call Home Baird also appeared on an episode of Doctor Doctor as Hilda. [20] [21] Her most recent credits include playing Rhea Bowden in psychological drama thriller series The Secrets She Keeps (2020), Diane Lawson in The Twelve (2022), Susan Stirling in crime series Return to Paradise and Dana Hanlon in drama series Plum (both 2024).

Personal life

Baird is married to Australian screenwriter and director, Michael Petroni, who she met when she was working in the United States. Together they have two children, a son and a daughter. [22]

Baird has publicly stated that she supported Hillary Clinton in the United States presidential election of 2016. [23]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1999I PromiseShort film
2005Amorality TaleRozShort film
2007Love Is LoveSabrinaShort film
2009 Alien Trespass Tammy
2015 Backtrack Carol Bower

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000MetropolisCharlotteTV film
2001 Water Rats Jedda SimpsonEpisode: "Bitter Legacy"
Crash Palace Chris SandfordMain role
2001–2004 All Saints Paula MorganRegular role
2005ConvictionTV film
Global Frequency Dr. Katrina 'Kate' FinchUnsold TV pilot
2006 Justice Linda WallisEpisode: "Wrongful Death"
2007 The 4400 Meghan Doyle Regular role
2012 GCB MikkiEpisode: "Pilot"
2013–2017 A Place to Call Home Regina StandishMain role (seasons 1–5)
2017 Doctor Doctor HildaEpisode: "Both Sides Now"
2020 The Secrets She Keeps Rhea Bowden6 episodes
2022 The Twelve Diane Lawson10 episodes
2024 Return to Paradise Susan Stirling1 episode
Plum Dana Hanlon6 episodes

References

  1. Roden, Cath (1 January 2000), A Little Death, archived from the original on 8 October 2017, retrieved 19 November 2016
  2. Fisk, Peter (27 April 2004), Bad Pennies, archived from the original on 8 October 2017, retrieved 20 November 2016
  3. imaginatrix (20 October 2009), ALL SAINTS FINAL TRAILER, archived from the original on 24 March 2017, retrieved 20 November 2016
  4. Hemingway, Anthony (27 September 2006), Wrongful Death, archived from the original on 8 October 2017, retrieved 20 November 2016
  5. Dickerson, Ernest R. (17 June 2007), The Wrath of Graham, archived from the original on 8 October 2017, retrieved 20 November 2016
  6. "The 4400 Characters - SF Series and Movies". sfseriesenfilms.jimdo.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  7. "jacqueline mckenzie on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  8. "Alien Trespass | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  9. "Comic-Con 2009: Alien Trespass Panel". Screen Rant. 26 July 2009. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  10. A Place To Call Home International (1 August 2016), Live Chat with Jenni Baird, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 26 November 2016
  11. "Foxtel breathes new life into a Place to Call Home after Seven signs deal to keep the show alive | DailyTelegraph". Archived from the original on 15 March 2016.
  12. 1 2 "When Does A Place to Call Home Season 4 Start?". Wait With Us!. 20 December 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  13. "TV WEEK". TV WEEK. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  14. "Instagram photo by Jenni Baird • Nov 18, 2015 at 7:13pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  15. "Movie Review – Backtrack (2015)". Flickering Myth. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  16. "Jenni Baird reprises 'evil' TV role". Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  17. Naughton, Julia (8 May 2016). "Logies 2016: Jessica Marais, Erik Thomson Among Winners So Far". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  18. "Instagram photo by Jenni Baird • Sep 4, 2016 at 9:26pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  19. "A Place To Call Home: Season 5 production begins February 2017". Foxtel. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  20. "Doctor Doctor: look who shows up in Whyhope!". Now To Love. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  21. Stenders, Kriv (13 September 2017), Episode #2.5, Rodger Corser, Nicole da Silva, Ryan Johnson, retrieved 6 January 2018
  22. Jenni Baird: ‘I don’t want my son to get hurt and get dementia at age 55’ Woman's Day. 28 October 2024
  23. "Instagram photo by Jenni Baird • Oct 10, 2016 at 3:30am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2016.