Meredith Baxter

Born in Los Angeles, California, Meredith Baxter was the only daughter born to aspiring actress Whitney Blake and radio announcer Tom Baxter. After her parents divorced, when she was five, her mother wed Hollywood producer Jack Fields. Baxter attended Hollywood High School. She went on to train at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy. While developing her acting skills, she met Bob Bush, to whom she was married from 1966-69. After their divorce, Baxter became a 22-year-old struggling actress and a single mother of two. With the help of her stepfather, she began her professional career with supporting roles in the critically panned horror film “Ben” (1976), and in the political thriller “All the President's Men” (1976), which starred Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. During the 1970s, Baxter found lucrative work on the small screen. In 1972, she and actor David Birney (whom she married in1974) starred as the title characters in the CBS sitcom “Bridget Loves Bernie.” Baxter then made a name for herself on the dramatic series “Family” (1976-80). She had enormous success when producer Gary David Goldberg handpicked her to play hippie mom Elyse Keaton on the NBC sitcom “Family Ties” (1982-89). Baxter and actor Michael Gross were cast as the liberal parents of conservative children played by Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers.