 In 2004, she won the Florida District Miss Black and Gold Pageant, representing the Iota Delta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at a regional competition in Atlanta, Georgia.She graduated from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida in December 2007 with a degree in sociology.Baden began her career as a child actress on television; her first major role was as Vanessa in the Nickelodeon children's television series "Gullah Gullah Island."