Born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and raised in Portland, Brenda Bakke moved to Los Angeles to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began to work in the mid-1980s on episodes of television series and playing minor characters in low budget comedies. She appeared in the
Charlie Sheen film
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993).
During the 1990s, she appeared in such mainstream Hollywood films as
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) and
L.A. Confidential (1997). The latter received nine Academy Award nominations, winning two Oscars. She landed a role on
American Gothic (1995). In the 2000s, she appeared in such films as
The Quickie (2001) and
Moving August (2002). She had guest roles on episodes of
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000),
NYPD Blue (1993),
The Mentalist (2008), and
Supernatural (2005). In 2015, she began appearing in the recurring role of Virginia on
If Loving You Is Wrong (2014). In 2016-17, she appeared in guest star roles on
Heartbeat (2016),
Grey's Anatomy (2005), and
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016).