Baxendale was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire and wanted to be a ballet dancer when she was younger. She trained at the Elmhurst School for Dance but dropped out at 17 in favour of an acting career. She moved to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and then worked at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre from 1992–1994.

It was from the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre that she was cast in the hospital TV series Cardiac Arrest (although it was not her first television role). Her role as Dr. Claire Maitland earned her a Scottish BAFTA nomination in 1995.

She was one of the stars of the popular TV series Cold Feet, playing Rachel Bradley, a role which gained her a British Comedy Award nomination in 1997. She also starred Read more...

Baxendale has been with her partner David Elliott since 1998 and together they have three children: Nell (born 1998), Eric (born 2001) and Vincent (born 2006). Her first pregnancy was written into An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and her second was written into the fourth series of Cold Feet.

Her first pregnancy (and the fact that she lived in England, not the USA) caused her character to be Read more...