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! Der zweite Versuch (1993).
During the 1990s, she appeared in such mainstream Hollywood films as Alarmstufe: Rot 2 (1995) and L.A. Confidential (1997). The latter received nine Academy Award nominations, winning two Oscars. She landed a role on American Gothic: Prinz der Finsternis (1995). In the 2000s, she appeared in such films as The Quickie (2001) and Ausziehen, einziehen, umziehen! (2002). She had guest roles on episodes of CSI: Vegas (2000), New York Cops: NYPD Blue (1993), The Mentalist (2008), and Supernatural: Zur Hölle mit dem Bösen (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: Die jungen Ärzte (2005), and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016).
