Traylor Howard

Traylor Elizabeth Howard (born June 14, 1966 ) is an American actress.

Traylor Elizabeth Howard was born on June 14, 1966, in Orlando, Florida, to Peggy (née Traylor ) and Robert M. Howard, Jr. She is the middle of three children, with an older brother, John R. Howard, and a younger brother.

Howard attended Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, and graduated from Florida State University with a degree in communications, advertising, and English.

She worked at SeaWorld in Orlando as a teenager.

While in middle school, Howard appeared in a Juicy Fruit chewing gum commercial.

In 1991, Howard married Cameron B. Hall in Orlando, Florida.

The couple then lived in Beverly Hills, California.

She officially began her career in 1994 when she appeared in one of the AT&T Corporation's "You Will" television commercials.

She has also had lead roles on the sitcoms Boston Common (1996–1997) and Two Guys and a Girl (1998–2001).

Howard's 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, for the show's two-season run.

Her hometown newspaper, The Orlando Sentinel, panned the show as "magna cum lousy."

Howard's film roles include Dirty Work (1998), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), and Son of the Mask (2005).

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.

Like Boston Common, Two Guys and a Girl was set in Boston, Massachusetts.

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

The following year, she featured in the Foo Fighters' music video "Breakout".

In 2000, Howard appeared in the film Me, Myself & Irene as Jim Carrey's adulterous bride.

That same year, she performed in the play How I Fell in Love by playwright Joel Field at the Williamstown Theater Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts.

It was reported that actor George Clooney visited Howard during her time at the festival.

In 2002, Howard starred in the short-lived sitcom Bram & Alice alongside Alfred Molina.

That same year, she made a guest appearance in the third season of The West Wing.

In April 2003, Howard married Christian Navarro, a wine merchant.

She is best known for starring as Natalie Teeger in the USA Network series Monk from 2005 to 2009.

In 2005, Howard starred in the film Son of the Mask.

From 2005 to 2009, Howard starred opposite Tony Shalhoub in the USA Network comedy-drama detective series Monk as the titular character's faithful assistant, Natalie Teeger.

Following Monk's conclusion, Howard stepped back from acting to spend more time with her children.

The couple divorced in 2005.

In November 2006, Howard gave birth to a son, Sabu.

In 2011, Howard married Jarel Portman (son of John C. Portman Jr.).

They have a son, Julien.

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 she performed on a USO tour in 2005.

She defended Franken against misconduct allegations, saying, in part, "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."

Howard reprised her role as Natalie Teeger in Peacock's At-Home Variety Show short 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.