Traylor Howard

Traylor Elizabeth Howard was born on June 14, 1966, in Orlando, Florida, to Peggy (née Traylor^[3]) and Robert M. Howard, Jr.^[2] She is the middle of three children, with an older brother, John R. Howard,^[4] and a younger brother. She attended Lake Highland Preparatory School,^[5] and worked at SeaWorld Orlando as a teenager.^[6] After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in communications, advertising, and English, Howard moved to Los Angeles, California, where she worked for a public relations firm and a greeting card company while performing in local theater productions.^[7]

While in high school, Howard appeared in a Juicy Fruit chewing gum commercial.^[7] In 1994 she appeared in one of the AT&T Corporation's "You Will" television commercials.^{[citation needed]}

Howard landed her first major television role in 1996 for the NBC sitcom Boston Common, portraying Joy Byrnes, a doctoral student and the love interest of Anthony Clark's Boyd Pritchett, throughout the show's two-season run. Her hometown newspaper, The Orlando Sentinel, panned the show as "magna cum lousy."^[8]

From 1998 to 2001, Howard starred as Sharon Carter, the titular "girl" of the ABC sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (titled Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place for the first two seasons), opposite Ryan Reynolds and Richard Ruccolo.^[9][10]

In 1998, Howard starred as the romantic lead in the film Dirty Work opposite Norm Macdonald.

In 2000, Howard appeared in the film Me, Myself & Irene as Jim Carrey's adulterous bride.^[11] She also featured in Foo Fighters' music video "Breakout", which served as a tie-in to the song's appearance in the film. That same year, Howard performed in the play How I Fell in Love by playwright Joel Field at the Williamstown Theater Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts.^[12] It was reported that actor George Clooney visited Howard during her time at the festival.^[13]

In 2002, Howard starred in the short-lived sitcom Bram & Alice alongside Alfred Molina.^[14] That same year, she made a guest appearance in the third season of The West Wing.

In 2005, Howard starred in the film Son of the Mask.^[15]

From 2005 to 2009, Howard starred opposite Tony Shalhoub on the USA Network comedy-drama detective series Monk as the titular character's faithful assistant, Natalie Teeger.^[16] Following Monk's conclusion, Howard stepped back from acting to spend more time with her children.^[17]

Howard reprised her role as Natalie Teeger in Peacock's At-Home Variety Show short episode "Mr. Monk Shelters in Place" and Monk follow-up film Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie, which were released on May 11, 2020, and December 8, 2023, respectively.^[18][19][20]

In 1991, Howard married Cameron B. Hall in Orlando, Florida. The couple then lived in Beverly Hills, California.^[21][2][22]

In April 2003, Howard married wine merchant Christian Navarro. The couple divorced in 2005.^[21][23]

In November 2006, Howard gave birth to a son, Sabu.^[21][24][25]

In 2011, Howard married Jarel Portman, son of architect John C. Portman Jr. They have a son, Julien.^[21][26]

In July 2019, Howard was interviewed by Jane Mayer for a New Yorker piece detailing sexual misconduct allegations against former United States Senator Al Franken, with whom Howard performed on a USO tour in 2005. Howard defended Franken, saying, "I get the whole #MeToo thing, and a whole lot of horrible stuff has happened, and it needed to change. But that's not what was happening here. Franken is a good man."^[27]

 

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• Traylor Howard at IMDb