Baker was born in Tacoma, Washington and raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS Church). After age nine she lived in Madrid and London. Her father runs a titanium factory in Russia, where her parents now reside.

Baker attended The American School in London and the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University where she was mentored by playwright Elizabeth Swados. She currently lives in New York City with her puppy, Carlos.

Baker's writings and humor often relate to her experiences in New York City and coming of age as a Mormon, struggling between her personal desires and religious abstinence. George Dawes Green said "As she juggles it all before us...her doubt and her deep faith and her lust and longing and fierce discipline...she’s a dazzlement, a living breathing paradox".