Born on July 30, 1969 in Tasmania, Australia, Simon Baker is a Golden Globe-nominated actor best known for his role on The Devil Wears Prada and several series such as The Mentalist, Smith, and The Guardian. The son of an English teacher and a mechanic, he was raised a Catholic and moved to the United States in 1995. Baker is also a champion sportsman, known for competing at state level surfing and water polo.
Simon Baker was known in the Australian entertainment industry as Simon Baker Denny, a name he used on television during the late 1980s. His first appearances included a music video clip for Melissa Tkautz’s “Read My Lips” and Euphoria’s “Love You Right” in 1991. He next appeared on the successful series E Street, and was in Home and Away and Heartbreak High. It was when he moved to America that he found more success. He was given a small but important role in L.A. Confidential, which led him to be cast in films. Baker was in 2000’s Red Planet, as an astronaut opposite Val Kilmer, Carrie Anne Moss and Benjamin Bratt. In 2001, he was given the male lead role in the series The Guardian, which ran for three seasons. His next role was as Ritaux de Vilette in The Affair of the Necklace, and he was subsequently cast in George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead.
In 2004, Baker played a distressed husband in Book of Love. He was also in Something New and Sex and Death 101. In 2006, he was given a lead role in the series Smith as Jeff, the firepower manager of a crew of professional thieves. He was also seen on films like The Devil Wears Prada, where he played magazine writer Christian Thompson, The Ring 2, Sunset Strip, Judas Kiss, Love from Ground Zero and Ride With the Devil. Baker was also cast in the CBS series The Mentalist, as Detective Patrick Jane.
Spouse:
Rebecca Rigg (1998 - present)
He and Rebecca are very good friends with actress, Nicole Kidman. Rebecca has known Kidman for many years - they met whilst on the auditioning circuit in Australia.
As a teen, competed on a state level in surfing and water polo.
He was one of the singers/dancers in the band Euphoria's film clip 'Love you right'.
Children with Rebecca Rigg: Stella Breeze (b. 1993), Claude Blue (b. 1998) and Harry Friday (b. 19 September 2001), Nicole Kidman is Harry's godmother.
He, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce were all raised in Australia. All three of them also appeared in L.A. Confidential (1997). Baker is the only one of the three who was born in Australia. Pearce was born in England, Crowe in New Zealand.
Voted among People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" (2002)
Named among Fade In Magazine's "100 People in Hollywood You Need to Know" in 2005.
Former bricklayer.