Baldwin was born in Washington, D.C. She was crowned Miss New Mexico USA 1965 and was the second runner up to Sue Ann Downey in the Miss USA pageant that year. Her first acting job in Hollywood was in 1969 on I Dream of Jeannie in the episode “Jeannie and the Bachelor Party” playing Major Nelson’s secretary Dolores.

Both Gingers also worked with Larry Hagman. Judith Baldwin played Major Nelson’s secretary Dolores on a 1969 episode of I Dream of Jeannie, while Tina Louise played J.R.’s secretary Julie Grey on the first few episodes of Dallas before being killed off.

Baldwin, who took over the role of Ginger Grant in Rescue from Gilligan’s Island in 1978, appeared with the original Ginger (Tina Louise) three years earlier in the 1975 film The Stepford Wives. Besides being in a few scenes together, the last scene in the movie shows both actresses passing in the supermarket and just glancing at one another. Baldwin appeared in the 1987 made-for-TV sequel The Stepford Children with Barbara Eden.

In 1987, she created the role of Beth Logan on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, but she was soon replaced by Nancy Burnett, who became more closely identified in the role.