Baird was born and raised in Fruita, Colorado where she learned the piano and guitar as a teenager. She graduated Fruita Monument High School in 1977. She studied theater and dance at University of Utah before later moving to New York City where she performed on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She made her debut television appearance in 1981, playing a supporting role in the American soap opera Another World, before spending nine months touring with The Heidi Chronicles in 1990, where she played the role of one of Heidi's friends. She played a bigger role of Taylor Baldwin in the soap opera As the World Turns in 1987 before making her film debut as the role of Stacy in An Innocent Man in 1989. In 1991, Baird moved to Los Angeles, California, where she acted in television and film productions such as L.A. Law, Murphy Brown, Walker, Texas Ranger and Picket Fences. From 1994 to 2000, Baird was a member and teacher at The Groundlings, an Improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school in Los Angeles. While at The Groundlings, Baird taught and performed with actors such as Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, becoming McCarthy's first improv teacher. Baird has been a voice actress in video games such as the Mass Effect series, the Saints Row series, the EverQuest II series, ', Rogue Galaxy and '. Some of her notable acting roles during the 2000s are Sandra Hicks in Bones in 2009, Sharon Pearl in The X-Files in 2000 and Andrea Kuhn in Six Feet Under in 2005. In March 2009, Baird released her debut studio album We Sail, an eleven-track country record. Baird wrote, co-produced, acted and provided the soundtrack for the film Life Inside Out which was released in October 2013. The film, which explores the relationship between a mother and son through music, features Baird's real-life son Finneas. Gary Goldstein from Los Angeles Times wrote "A beautiful demonstration of a mother's love concludes this special little film on a hugely touching note." In 2016, Baird edited the music video for the US gold-certified song "Six Feet Under" by her daughter, Billie Eilish.
Personal life
In 1995, she married American actor Patrick O'Connell, whom she had met while performing in Alaska. She gave birth to her son Finneas in 1997. Baird gave birth to her daughter, Billie Eilish in Highland Park, Los Angeles in December 2001. She and her husband decided to homeschool their children, with Baird stating: "Homeschooling allows us to let them do the things that they really love to do and not have a giant academic schedule on top of it. , Baird lives with her family in Highland Park, Los Angeles. In 2019, she joined her daughter Billie Eilish on her international When We All Fall Asleep arena tour.
