Meridith Baer (born August 21, 1947) is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and designer, best known for establishing the design and real estate practice of "home staging" and founding her own home staging firm in the United States, Meridith Baer Home. In 2013, ''
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, ...
'' premiered a television show about Baer and her firm titled ''Staged To Perfection''.
Early life
Meridith Baer attended the University of Colorado in Boulder where she received a BS in Journalism.
Acting & Screenwriting
Prior to her graduation, Baer was approached on the University of Colorado campus by producer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, fantasy, and science fiction.
His films include ''Flashdance'', ''Top Gun'', '' The Rock'', '' Cri ...
who cast Baer in a Pepsi commercial. This ultimately launched Baer's prolific career in acting, in which she appeared in more than 100 television commercials, as well as modeling for Winston, as a Kent girl and a Benson & Hedges girl.
At the same time, Baer continued to put her journalism degree to work writing articles like “The Passionate Shopper”
for New York Magazine and for other publications including
Penthouse'' and ''
Viva
Viva may refer to:
Companies and organisations
* Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator
* Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia
* Viva Air Dominicana
* VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company
* Vi ...
''.
In 1975, Baer moved to Los Angeles, where she continued to act in film and television, including appearances on popular programs including "CHIPS", "Eight is Enough", and ''Happy Days''. In 1981 she sold her first screenplay, ''
Prisoners
A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison.
...
'', for $250,000. A fictional love story about a teenage girl growing up on a prison reservation in the 1950s, the film was produced by 20th Century Fox and starred actress
Tatum O’Neal
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' (1973) opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. ...
. Baer's follow-up script, "Unbecoming Age", also released as ''The Magic Bubbles'', was a comedy about a woman who has a mid-life crisis triggered by her turning 40 and features a young
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
in a supporting role.
Meridith Baer Home
Meridith launched her business, Meridith Baer Home, in 1998 and today has over 250 employees and 35 designers under her helm. The firm provides home staging, interior design and luxury home furniture leasing services from the company's offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Connecticut and Florida.
Meridith Baer Home holds 300,000 square feet of inventory in its warehouse facilities on the west and east coasts.
Recognized as the world's number one home staging firm, Meridith Baer Home has provided its services to thousands of celebrities and billionaires including
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...
and
Rande Gerber
Rande Gerber (born April 27, 1962) is an American businessman and former model. He founded tequila brand Casamigos alongside actor George Clooney and real estate businessman Mike Meldman, as well as nightlife companies Midnight Oil, Caliche R ...
,
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...
,
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...
,
Madonna,
Halle Berry Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
,
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of vario ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
.
Projects have ranged from $700,000 bungalows to $125 million estates.
HGTV “Staged To Perfection”
After an appearance on the
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, ...
series "Selling L.A." Baer was approached by several networks about developing a television series about her home staging work.
In 2013, she launched her own television show on
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, ...
, entitled “Staged To Perfection”. The show chronicled Baer and her team of 18 designers as she staged luxury properties that have stalled on the market for over a month.
Filmography
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baer, Meridith
1947 births
Living people
Artists from Los Angeles
American film actresses
American interior designers
American television actresses
University of Colorado Boulder alumni
Writers from Los Angeles
Writers from Des Moines, Iowa
Actresses from Los Angeles
Screenwriters from California
Actresses from Des Moines, Iowa
Screenwriters from Iowa
20th-century American actresses