Meredith Baxter

Meredith Baxter
Baxter at the Human Rights Campaign Gala in 2014
Born	Meredith Ann Baxter (1947-06-21) June 21, 1947 (age 69) South Pasadena, California, US
Other names	Meredith Baxter-Birney
Education	James Monroe High School Hollywood High School Interlochen Center for the Arts
Occupation	Actress, producer
Years active	1971–present
Television	Bridget Loves Bernie Family Family Ties
Spouse(s)	Robert Lewis Bush (m. 1966; div. 1969) David Birney (m. 1974; div. 1989) Michael Blodgett (m. 1995; div. 2000) Nancy Locke (m. 2013)
Children	5
Parent(s)	Tom Baxter Whitney Blake (deceased)
Relatives	Allan Manings (stepfather, deceased)

Meredith Ann Baxter (born June 21, 1947) is an American actress and producer. She is known for her roles on the ABC drama series Family (1976–80) and the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–89), credited as Meredith Baxter-Birney. A five-time Emmy Award nominee, one of her nominations was for playing the title role in the 1992 TV film A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story.

Baxter was born in South Pasadena, California, the daughter of actress turned director/producer Whitney Blake and Tom Baxter, a radio announcer. After her parents were divorced in 1953, Baxter and her two brothers, Richard (born 1944) and Brian (born 1946), were raised by their mother in Pasadena. Her second stepfather was situation-comedy writer Allan Manings. She also shares the same birth date with her Family Ties co-star, Michael Gross.

Baxter was educated at James Monroe High School before transferring to Hollywood High School. During her senior year, she attended Interlochen Center for the Arts as a voice major, but returned to Hollywood High, where she graduated in 1965.

Baxter got her first big break on television in 1972 as one of the stars of Bridget Loves Bernie, a CBS television-network situation comedy. The series was canceled after one season, but her co-star, David Birney became her second husband in 1974. Following their marriage and until their divorce in 1989, she was credited as Meredith Baxter-Birney, under which name she became widely known several years later on Family. She played the role of Nancy Lawrence Maitland and received two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1977 and 1978).