Diora Lynn Baird (born April 6, 1983)[1] is an American actress, and former model for clothing brand Guess?.
Early life
Baird was born in Miami, Florida on April 6, 1983. She got into acting when her mother, who was also a model, enrolled her in an acting class to help her overcome introversion. Later, she became vice president of her school's Thespian Society.[1]
At 17, she moved to Los Angeles with the hope of pursuing an acting career. To earn money while auditioning, she worked as a salesperson at The Gap, a caterer, a waitress, a pre-school teacher, and a clown at children's parties until breaking into the modeling industry - most notably with Guess?.[1] Her exposure increased considerably with an appearance on the cover of, and a nude photoshoot in the August 2005 issue of Playboy magazine.[2][3] She was signed to Elite Model Management in Miami.[4]
Career
In 2004, Baird started earning acting roles on the Drew Carey Show, and in the low budget film Brain Blockers. Her breakthrough appearance in a major film was in Wedding Crashers in 2005, which she followed up with roles in Accepted and Hot Tamale. In 2006, she appeared in four films, most notably a major role in the horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.
Baird had featured photo spreads in several magazines including Playboy, FHM, Stuff, Maxim (in which she was ranked #76 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list,[5] #64 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list,[6] #76 on the Maxim Magazine Hot 100 of 2011 list,[7] the #17 spot on FHM's top 100 2010, and the #40 spot in 2011),[8] Toro and Esquire (UK).[9] She lent her voice to the Scarface video game as one of Tony Montana's possible girlfriends.[10]
Baird has also guest starred in episodes of Big Day, Shark, The Loop, and Two and a Half Men (the 2009 episode "She'll Still Be Dead at Halftime"). She starred in the movie 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, directed by Ben Ketai,[11] which is produced by Columbia Pictures and Ghost House Pictures.[12] Baird stars in the FEARnet webseries Tea Party Macabre, which is part of the series "Women in Horror Month".[13] She also starred in the 2009 comedy Stan Helsing.[14]
She starred in several videos for the Funny or Die website, including one with Garfunkel and Oates called "Go Running with Chicken" and "Sexy Dark Ages" with Robert Englund.[15] She starred in another web video with the comedic duo called "This Party Took a Turn for the Douche". In 2010, she appeared in Night of the Demons. In February 2011, she starred in a short musical film called "Howlin' for You" for the band The Black Keys.[16]
She plays a porn star in her 2014 film Beautiful Girl. Baird was cast in a recurring role in the Amazon Studios pilot Cocked along with costars Brian Dennehy, Jason Lee, Dreama Walker, and Sam Trammell. The show was not picked up for series.[17] Baird guest starred in an episode of the Hulu series Casual.[18]
Personal life
Baird was married to actor Jonathan Togo from 2013 to 2016; they have one child.[19][20] In 2017, Baird revealed that she was dating comedian Mav Viola.[21] Baird told The Advocate magazine that after years of assuming herself to be asexual, she identifies as lesbian.[22] On December 29, 2017, Baird announced that she and Viola were engaged.[23]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Wedding Crashers | Vivian | |
2006 | Hot Tamale | Tuesday Blackwell | |
2006 | Bachelor Party Vegas | Penelope | Direct-to-video film |
2006 | Fifty Pills | Tiffany | |
2006 | Accepted | Kiki | |
2006 | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | Bailey | |
2007 | Brain Blockers | Suzi Klein | Direct-to-video film |
2007 | Young People Fucking | Jamie | |
2008 | South of Heaven | Lily | |
2008 | My Best Friend's Girl | Rachel | |
2009 | Stan Helsing | Nadine | |
2009 | Night of the Demons | Lily Thompson | |
2010 | Hot Tub Time Machine | Mrs. Steelman | |
2010 | Let the Game Begin | Kate | |
2010 | Quit | Danielle | |
2010 | 30 Days of Night: Dark Days | Amber | Direct-to-video film |
2010 | Love Shack | LaCienga Torrez | |
2010 | Dry Run | Laurie | |
2012 | Transit | Arielle | |
2012 | Last Call | Janine | |
2013 | Riddle | Amber Richards | |
2013 | Concrete Blondes | Sammi Lovett | |
2014 | Beautiful Girl | Odessa | |
2021 | The Virtuoso | Johnnie's Girl | |
2023 | Night Train | Jaylynne Jackson | |
2024 | Spread | Xtasy | |
2024 | Witchy Ways | Eve | post-production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | The Drew Carey Show | Valerie | Episode: "Drew Thinks Inside the Box" |
2006 | South Beach | Brianna | Unaired TV pilot |
2006–2007 | Big Day | Kristin | 3 episodes |
2007 | Shark | Nina Lange | Episode: "Fall from Grace" |
2007 | The Loop | Cara | Guest role; 2 episodes |
2009 | Two and a Half Men | Wanda | Episode: "She'll Still Be Dead at Halftime" |
2009 | Robot Chicken | Fantasia / Spanish Woman / Woman / Lady / Girl | Voice role; 2 episodes |
2009 | Gary Unmarried | Redhead | Episode: "Gary Shoots Fish in a Barrel" |
2009 | Accidentally on Purpose | Andrea | Episode: "The Love Guru" |
2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Lainie McCallum | Episode: "Witness" |
2011 | Psych | Nicole | Episode: "The Tao of Gus" |
2012 | Bent | Natalie | Episode: "Smitten" |
2012–2013 | Shameless | Meg | 4 episodes |
2014 | Franklin & Bash | Cindy Maloney | Episode: "Dance the Night Away" |
2014 | Newsreaders | Ashley / Jennifer | Episode: "Strip Club Expose; Long Lost Twins" |
2015 | Cocked | Aubrey | Television film |
2015 | Casual | April | Episode: "Animals" |
2016 | Telenovela | Maria Wilson | Episode: "Caught in the Act" |
2016 | Angel from Hell | Brandi | 3 episodes |
2018–2025 | Cobra Kai | Shannon Keene | Guest role |
2018 | My Daughter Vanished | Melanie | Television film; also known as Hidden Family Secrets |
2019 | The Missing Sister | Collette | Television film; also known as My Sister's Deadly Secret |
2020 | Her Secret Family Killer | April | Television film |
2020 | Psycho Sister-In-Law | Callie Hayes | Television film |
2022 | Bound by Blackmail | Diana | Television film |
2023 | You're Not Supposed to Be Here | Kennedy | Television film |
Web
- Tea Party Macabre (2010), as herself; 5 episodes
Music videos
- "Howlin' for You" (2011), by The Black Keys[24][better source needed]
- "This Party Took a Turn for the Douche" (2011), by Garfunkel and Oates[25][better source needed]
- "Out of Goodbyes" (2011), by Maroon 5 featuring Lady Antebellum[26][better source needed]
Video game
- Scarface: The World is Yours (2006), as Femme Fatale (voice role)
References
- ^ a b c Baird at Maxim.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-26. Archived August 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Model of the Week". Askmen.com. April 2007. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2006.
- ^ Miska, Brad (October 2005). "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Prequel: Star Diora Baird". Defamer.com.
- ^ "Diora Baird". Fashion Model Directory. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- ^ Maxim Hot 100 2007 Archived July 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Maxim.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-26.
- ^ Maxim Hot 100 2008 Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Maxim.com (2007-09-24). Retrieved on 2011-07-26.
- ^ Maxim. "2011 Hot 100". Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ^ AdTech Ad FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2010 Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Fhm.com; retrieved 2011-07-26.
- ^ FHM. "FHM's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011". Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
- ^ Stahie, Silviu (May 2006). "'Scarface: The World Is Yours' Signs Five Hollywood Beauties". Softpedia. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
- ^ "'30 Days of Night Dark Days' Officially Announced", October 22, 2009 Bloody-discusting.com. Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-26.
- ^ BD's Got Your '30 Days of Night: Dark Days' Casting!. Bloody-disgusting.com; retrieved 2011-07-26.
- ^ Creepy, Uncle. (2010-01-28) You're Invited to a Tea Party Macabre. Dreadcentral.com; retrieved 2011-07-26.
- ^ "Watch Stan Helsing-Amazon Prime". Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ Diora Baird profile Archived June 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Funnyordie.com; retrieved 2011-07-26.
- ^ "Video-The Black Keys "Howlin' For You"". Kroq.radio.com. February 11, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ "New Amazon Shows: What We're Expecting From Its First 2015 Pilots". Indiewire. January 13, 2015.
- ^ "Casual (TV Series 2015-2018)". IMDB.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "New work of the beautiful (and expecting!) Diora Baird". stephanie vovas blog. December 3, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "Someone FINALLY decided to make his grand entrance into the world..." Diora Baird official Twitter. December 12, 2012.
- ^ "'Shameless' actor Diora Baird comes out". May 29, 2017.
- ^ "Actress Diora Baird Is Lucky in Love". September 8, 2017.
- ^ Thompson, Avery (December 29, 2017). "'Cobra Kai' Star Diora Baird Engaged To Partner Mav Viola — See Her Gorgeous Ring". Hollywood Life. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- ^ "The Black Keys – Howlin' for You". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Garfunkel and Oates – This Party Took a Turn for the Douche". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Maroon 5 – Out of Goodbyes featuring Lady Antebellum". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via YouTube.
External links
- Diora Baird at IMDb
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