# Brenda Bakke
**Brenda Bakke** (born Brenda Jean Bakke, 1963) is an American actress known for playing Selena Coombs on the CBS supernatural drama *American Gothic* (1995) and [Lana Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/lana-turner) in the Oscar-winning film *L.A. Confidential* (1997). Born in [Klamath Falls, Oregon](https://www.edgepedia.org/klamath-falls-oregon), and raised in Portland, she trained at the [American Academy of Dramatic Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-academy-of-dramatic-arts) in Los Angeles and has worked in film and television since the mid-1980s.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963, Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA; birth name Brenda Jean Bakke[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/) |
| Training | American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Los Angeles[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/) |
| Screen debut | *Last Resort* (1986), followed by a supporting role in *Hardbodies 2* (1986)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brenda_bakke) |
| Signature TV role | Selena Coombs on *American Gothic* (CBS, 1995), a one-season supernatural drama[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/brenda-bakke/umc.cpc.1bz6xc7xke9fl9zdloseyzmij) |
| Signature film role | Lana Turner in *L.A. Confidential* (1997), which received nine Academy Award nominations and won two Oscars[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/) |
| Other 1990s films | *Hot Shots! Part Deux* (1993), *Gunmen* (1994), *Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight* (1995), *Under Siege 2: Dark Territory* (1995)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brenda_bakke) |
| Writing | Autobiographical short novel *Driving in LA*, covering her life from about age 16 to 20[4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/12/05/brenda-bakke-interview/) |
## Early life and training
Bakke was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and grew up in the Portland area.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/) In interviews she has said she began imitating comediennes such as [Lily Tomlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lily-tomlin) and [Carol Burnett](https://www.edgepedia.org/carol-burnett) at about three years old, and decided to pursue acting as a career in high school, where a drama teacher helped her arrange an audition for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, to which she was accepted.[4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/12/05/brenda-bakke-interview/) She has also said she appeared in a Portland stage production of *The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds*.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/)
Her entry into professional work came through a chance meeting: while working as a bartender and waitress at a Tony Roma's restaurant in Beverly Hills, she met an agent who was a daytime customer, auditioned for his office, and was signed. Her first film was the comedy *Last Resort* (1986), with [Charles Grodin](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-grodin), Jon Lovitz, and [Phil Hartman](https://www.edgepedia.org/phil-hartman), which earned her a [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) card.[6](https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2018/06/20/gunhed-memories-brenda-bakke-on-her-starring-role-in-tohos-futuristic-actioner/)
## Film career
**Low-budget genre films.** After *Last Resort*, Bakke appeared in a series of low-budget genre films geared toward video and cable, beginning with a supporting role in the teen sex sequel *Hardbodies 2* (1986).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brenda_bakke) Her credits from this period include *Death Spa* (1988), *Dangerous Love* (1988), *Nowhere to Run* (1989), and *Gunhed* (1989).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brenda_bakke)
**Work in Japan.** Bakke landed one of her first starring roles in Japan in Toho's futuristic science-fiction thriller *Gunhed* (1989), followed by the Japanese co-production *Solar Crisis* (1990). She has described an unusual casting process for *Gunhed*: the producers came to Los Angeles, interviewed her in her [Hollywood Boulevard](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-boulevard) apartment, and offered her the role outright for $75,000, with no audition; they told her they wanted a "Lauren Bacall type".[6](https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2018/06/20/gunhed-memories-brenda-bakke-on-her-starring-role-in-tohos-futuristic-actioner/)
**1990s mainstream films.** The spoof *Hot Shots! Part Deux* (1993) represented a breakthrough of sorts, with Bakke playing Michelle Rodham Huddleston, an initially sympathetic romantic interest of [Charlie Sheen](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-sheen).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brenda_bakke) She has recalled the production as playful, with improvised gags making the final cut, including a bedroom scene in which a thrown cowboy hat landed on top of the camera.[4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/12/05/brenda-bakke-interview/) She then appeared in the action film *Gunmen* (1994) supporting [Christopher Lambert](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-lambert) and [Mario Van Peebles](https://www.edgepedia.org/mario-van-peebles), played Cordelia in *Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight* (1995), and played Captain Linda Gilder in *Under Siege 2: Dark Territory* (1995).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brenda_bakke)
**L.A. Confidential.** In Curtis Hanson's neo-noir *L.A. Confidential* (1997), Bakke played Lana Turner in a pivotal scene in which Lieutenant Ed Exley mistakes the actress for a prostitute who has been cut to resemble her.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/brenda-bakke/umc.cpc.1bz6xc7xke9fl9zdloseyzmij) She obtained the role by meeting the director with a casting director, working on Turner's accent with a voice teacher, and auditioning on tape; she then studied Turner's appearances in *Peyton Place* for three weeks before filming.[6](https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2018/06/20/gunhed-memories-brenda-bakke-on-her-starring-role-in-tohos-futuristic-actioner/) The film received nine Academy Award nominations and won two Oscars.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/)
## Television
Bakke began working in television in the mid-1980s with guest roles on series episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/) Her television debut is generally dated to *Star Trek: The Next Generation* in 1987, where she played Rivan.[7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2527) She had a brief stint as a regular on the CBS Western *Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life and Times* (1993), playing a character called The Wren.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/brenda-bakke/umc.cpc.1bz6xc7xke9fl9zdloseyzmij)
**American Gothic.** Her best-known television role came on the CBS supernatural drama *American Gothic* (1995), produced during a single season, in which she played Selena Coombs, a schoolteacher by day and close confidant of the sinister Sheriff Lucas Buck ([Gary Cole](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-cole)).[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/brenda-bakke/umc.cpc.1bz6xc7xke9fl9zdloseyzmij) The series has since been described as a cult favorite, and Bakke is frequently identified with the role.[7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2527)
**Later television.** After *L.A. Confidential*, she returned to series work as the mother of the lead character in the short-lived Fox drama *Ryan Caulfield: Year One* (1999).[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/brenda-bakke/umc.cpc.1bz6xc7xke9fl9zdloseyzmij) Guest appearances followed on *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*, *NYPD Blue*, *The Mentalist*, *Supernatural*, *Dollhouse*, *Dark Angel*, *Charmed*, *Heartbeat*, *Grey's Anatomy*, and *Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/) From 2015 she appeared in the recurring role of Virginia on the series *[If Loving You Is Wrong](https://www.edgepedia.org/if-loving-you-is-wrong)*, in ten episodes through 2017.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/)
## Later work and writing
Bakke's later film credits include *The Quickie* (2001), *Moving August* (2002), *Billy Boy* (2017), and *Foster Boy* (2019), and she appeared in the 2019 miniseries *What/If* as Older Laura and in *Unbelievable!!!!!* (2020).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/) • [8](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/brenda-bakke/credits/3030268382/)
She is also a novelist. Her short novel *Driving in LA*, published in 2017, is written in a character's voice and covers her life from roughly age 16 to 20, including sexual assault, cocaine addiction, a short period of prostitution, and survival in Los Angeles; she has said the names and some circumstances were changed for libel reasons but that the stories are true.[4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/12/05/brenda-bakke-interview/) She has named theater as her favorite performing medium, citing the direct audience response and the control it gives a performer.[4](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/12/05/brenda-bakke-interview/)
## References
1. [Brenda Bakke Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/bio/)
2. [Brenda Bakke, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/brenda_bakke)
3. [Brenda Bakke, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/brenda-bakke/umc.cpc.1bz6xc7xke9fl9zdloseyzmij)
4. [Brenda Bakke [Interview], Trainwreck'd Society (December 5, 2018)](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/12/05/brenda-bakke-interview/)
5. [Brenda Bakke, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000283/)
6. ['Gunhed' Memories! Brenda Bakke on Her Starring Role in Toho's Futuristic Actioner!, Vantage Point Interviews (June 20, 2018)](https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2018/06/20/gunhed-memories-brenda-bakke-on-her-starring-role-in-tohos-futuristic-actioner/)
7. [Brenda Bakke, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2527)
8. [Brenda Bakke List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/brenda-bakke/credits/3030268382/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, recent era*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license