[1] Baker also has appeared in over 50 films, including Jacknife (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Cider House Rules (1999), Cold Mountain (2003), Nine Lives (2005), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), Last Chance Harvey (2008), Take Shelter (2011), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and The Age of Adaline (2015).

On television, Baker starred as Dr. Jill Brock in the CBS drama series Picket Fences (1992–1996), for which she received three Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

[3] Baker began her acting career at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, performing in several of Sam Shepard's plays before getting her break in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love (1983) opposite Ed Harris.

[3] She later had dramatic performances as a prostitute in Street Smart (1987) and a recovering alcoholic and victim of domestic abuse in Clean and Sober (1988).

From 1992 to 1996, Baker starred as Jill Brock, a small-town doctor, in the CBS critically acclaimed drama series Picket Fences created by David E. Kelley.

Her other major credits include The Cider House Rules (1999), Cold Mountain (2003), 13 Going on 30 (2004), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), Last Chance Harvey (2008), Take Shelter (2011) and Saving Mr. Banks (2013).