Bauer was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] She was Miss Phoenix winner and 1968 Miss Illinois pageant. In 1972, she made her big-screen debut in the sex comedy The Sexpert. She later starred in the sexploitation thriller The Centerfold Girls (1974). She turned down seven-year contract with Universal Pictures in 1973 and chose a three-year contract with the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless.[1] She played the role of Lorie Brooks from 1973 to 1982 with reprises in 1984, 2002, and 2018. In 1982, she had a cameo appearance in the comedy film Young Doctors in Love.
In 1993, Bauer was cast as Laura Horton on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives.[2] The character of Laura, previously played by Susan Flannery and Rosemary Forsyth (among others), had not been seen in 13 years. She played Laura from 1993 to 1999 with reprises in 2003, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2021.[3][4]
In addition to being on the cover of Playboy in February 1970, Bauer was to appear again in January 1982, in "The Women of the Soaps: The Bad and the Beautiful".[citation needed]
In 1982, Bauer married Emmy award-winning make-up artist Jeremy Swan. They have three children.[5]