Simon Baker

Baker was born in Launceston, Tasmania, and grew up in the Northern Rivers coastal town of Ballina, New South Wales, where he was known by the nickname 'Smiley'.[1]

Before working in Hollywood, he acted in various TV shows such as E Street (as Sam Farrel: 1992–1993), Home and Away (as James Hudson: 1993–1994), and Heartbreak High (as Tom Summers: 1996).

Hollywood

Baker at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2013.

In 1997, Baker appeared as Matt Reynolds in L.A. Confidential.

He is best known for his portrayal of Patrick Jane in the television series The Mentalist, and Nick Fallin in The Guardian.[2]

In 2010, he was earning US$350,000 per episode of The Mentalist. Shortly after, he signed a contract that delivered a payment of US$30 million for his role as Patrick Jane.[3]

In film, he is best known for his roles as Max Rourke in the remake of the Japanese horror film The Ring Two, Riley Denbo in Land of the Dead and Christian Thompson in the film adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.

In June 2012, Baker was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences along with 175 other individuals.[4]

On 14 February 2013, Baker was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the entertainment industry. Baker's star can be found at 6352 Hollywood Blvd.[5]

Billboard in Istanbul,Turkey

Baker fronted Samsung Electronics Australia's Turn on Tomorrow campaign announced in July 2010.[6],[7]

Baker also featured in an 18-month ad campaign for ANZ Bank in Australia and New Zealand starting in 2012.[8]

Since 2012 Baker has been a Longines Ambassador of Elegance[9]. He featured in the Elegance is an attitude advertising campaign with a video that was shot at Chantilly Racecourse[10][11] as well as a magazine print campaign[12]. A photoshoot for Longines was taken in London on December 12, 2017.[13]. In 2019, he attended a photoshoot with Kate Winslet at the Château de Chantilly for the Record collection.[14]

Baker was selected by Givenchy to be the face of its fragrance Gentlemen Only in 2013,[15] and Gentlemen Only Absolute in 2016.[16],[17]

On 2 October 1998, Baker married Australian actress Rebecca Rigg after five years of living together. Baker told The Ellen Show that one of their two weddings was held on the beach at Carmel.[18] They have a daughter and two sons: Stella (b. 1993), Claude (b. 1998), and Harry (b. 2001).[2]

Baker is close friends with actresses Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman. Watts is the godmother of his daughter Stella, while Kidman is the godmother of his youngest son, Harry.

In July 2009, Baker told PopMatters that he was raised Catholic, but is now agnostic.[19]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simon Baker.

• Simon Baker at AllMovie
• Simon Baker on IMDb
• Simon Baker interview The Guardian Femail Magazine
• Simon Baker The Guardian The Age
• Simon Baker interview Land of the Dead Femail Magazine