Malia Baker (born December 18, 2006) is an Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Mary Anne Spier in the Netflix award-winning series The Baby-Sitters Club, Gabby Lewis in the television series Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Chloe Charming in the Disney+ and Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants: The Rise of Red.
Baker was born in Botswana, South Africa and moved to Vancouver, BC, Canada as a young girl where she discovered her love for musical theatre at the age of three. A few years later, after visiting her father working on set, she completely enamored by the filmmaking process. She was inspired to pursue acting.
Biography[]
Botswana-born and Canadian-raised, Malia Baker became most recognizable for her standout performance as Mary Anne Spier in the Netflix award-winning series The Baby-Sitters Club, which debuted in 2020 and earned her a Family Emmy nomination for Best Youth Performance. Baker has also starred in Nickelodeon's reimagined horror antology classic Are You Afraid of the Dark? Both critics earned her a nomination for Favorite Female TV Star at the 2022 Kids Choice Awards. Previous credits also include appearances on The Flash, A Million Little Things and as lead in the Lifetime movie Caught in His Web, executive produced by Whoopi Goldberg. Baker's upcoming projects including the independent feature Spider & Jessie, where she joins Jesse Williams, McKenna Grace and Dacre Montgomery, Miramax's dramedy Harvest Moon, where she stars alongside industry titans Paul Bettany, Carmen Ejogo, and Candice Bergen, with Mark Waters directing and the Disney+ and Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants: The Rise of Red, which has her sharing a bill with Brandy and Rita Ora. Most recently, Baker joined as producer on the award-winning script, 12 Hours, as a executive producer and star in Hair of the Bear, an indie survival drama marking the narrative feature debut of co-directors Alexandre Trudeau and James McLellan. Named one of Seventeen magazine's Voices of the Year and Refinery29 Canada's Powerhouse, Malia Baker has ulitized every opportunity to dedicate her platform, and free time, to speak up - and show up - for social justice issues, with a particular focus on girls' and women's rights. In this capacity, Baker has contributed to conversations and publications for girls around the world, equality, girlhood, mental health, violence prevention and being a changemaker. Baker currently serves as a Champion for the UN initiative, GirlUp, and as the first ever youth Global Ambassador for the organization, She's the First.
