Traylor Howard

About Traylor Howard

Traylor Howard was born and raised in Orlando. She attended Lake Highland Preparatory School, and while there, appeared in a Juicy Fruit gum commercial. Howard graduated from Lake Highland Preparatory School in 1984. Howard then went on to graduate from Florida State University with a degree in communications and advertising and a minor in English.

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]

Trivia:

Traylor is her mother's maiden name.

Member of Pi Beta Phi sorority

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actress category for her performance in the film Son of the Mask (2005), however, she failed to receive a nomination.

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] The father was Jarel Portman
In 2011, Howard married Jarel Portman, son of architect John C. Portman Jr. They have another son, Julien.[21][27]

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."[28]

As of March 2007, Traylor has appeared as Natalie Teeger, Adrian Monk's assistant, in more episodes of "Monk" (2002) than Bitty Schram, her predecessor in that role. Traylor has been in 39 episodes (episodes 39 [aired Jan. 2005] to 77 [March 2007]). Schram had been in 38 (episodes 1 [July 2002] to 38 [August 2004], counting the two-hour pilot as two episodes). As of March 2010, Traylor has portrayed Natalie for 87 episodes.