Simon Baker was 18 when he looked up his father's number in a telephone book.

He would later arrive at his father's doorstep in Tasmania, reconnecting with him after years.

"He opened the door and it's like wow, it's like an older version of myself," Baker recalled in a recent episode of SBS' Who do you think you are?

Raised by his mother and step-father,The Mentaliststar barely saw his dad growing up. And even then, he didn't know the truth.

"I didn’t know he was my dad. He was a family friend, Uncle Barry," he shared.

"I’ve struggled with that."

The Tasmanian-born actor was the second child of Barry Baker, a mechanic and school caretaker, and Elizabeth, a high school English teacher.

After the couple married, they moved to New Guinea with a young Baker and his sister.

"They went on this incredible adventure – and they didn’t come back together," Baker explained.

While his family life was "difficult" growing up, Baker said he found solace in the Aussie beach community.

"You know, Australian beach culture raised me. It was a small community and back then, it was an idyllic place to live. I felt a really strong sense of belonging in that place, and I still do, you know Bundjalung Country around that area," he said in the show.

"It was a phenomenal childhood in that regard, but the personal family life was difficult and that’s where I found solace in the neighbourhood, in the ocean through surfing. That was a place for me to escape to."

Since then, Baker has gone on to make a name for himself as an actor and director. A name that is now etched in a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Here's everything we know about Simon Baker's life and career.

Simon Baker's career.

Baker scored his first big break out role as Constable Sam Farrell on the much-loved Aussie soapE-Street.

It was a role that saw him earn the 1993 Logie for Best New Talent. However, nearly three decades on, Baker doesn't remember his performance quite so fondly.

"It was terrible. I was terrible. It was embarrassing," the 52-year-old told Stellar magazine in 2017. "People don't bring it up much. I mean, it was nearly, what are we? It was nearly 30 years ago."

Baker later landed a role in the 1997 filmL.A. Confidential, which kicked off his career in Hollywood.

He went on to appear inThe GuardianandThe Devil Wears Pradabefore landing the role of Patrick Jane in the hit TV seriesThe Mentalist.

During his time on the show, Baker was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013 for his contribution to the entertainment industry.

After a 20 year stint in Hollywood, he decided to return back home to Australia.

In 2018, he made his directional debut in the coming-of-age dramaBreath(which he also starred in),before appearing in the 2020 filmHigh Ground.

More recently, he appeared in the 2022 TV seriesRoaralongside fellow Aussie actor Nicole Kidman.

Simon Baker's relationship with his ex-wife Rebecca Rigg.

Baker met his ex-wife Rebecca Rigg on a blind date in 1991.

The pair later worked alongside eachother onE Street,where Rigg played nurse Amy Preston.

In 1998, seven years after they first met, the actors tied the knot.

"Marrying her was the best decision I ever made," Baker told The Daily Telegraph in 2015. "[She's] the greatest woman any man could ever hope to make a life with."

The pair, who share three kids, kept their relationship relatively private throughout their over 20 years of marriage.

However, Baker has shared a few things about their relationship, particularly the way she supported him during his directorial debut inBreath.

"She said, 'Look, honey, there’s so many crap films made these days, so what if yours is just another one? Just go and make it'," he told People in 2018.

"She’s pretty great at taking the piss out of me and supporting me at the same time. Which is a real skill. One of her other great ones is, 'You’ll be fine, honey, just don’t be yourself'."

Unfortunately, the pair announced their separation last year.

"We remain close friends and our three children will always be the most important focus of our lives," Baker wrote in a joint statement obtained by