Elizabeth Natalie Schram (born July 17, 1968) is an American actress best known for playing Sharona Fleming in the television series ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

'' and for playing Evelyn Gardner in the film '' A League of Their Own'' (1992).

Early life

Born in

Mountainside, New Jersey Mountainside is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is located on a ridge in northern-central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Un ...

, Schram studied at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

on a tennis scholarship and graduated with a degree in advertising design. Having known for a number of years that she wanted to act, she pursued roles in both film and television as well as Broadway theater. Bitty was a nickname she decided to use when she became an actress. Schram adheres to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

Career

The role that initially brought her note was that of Evelyn Gardner, the Rockford Peaches'

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In ...

, in the

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

film '' A League of Their Own''. Her character was the recipient of the classic admonition by manager Jimmy Dugan (

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

), "There's no crying in baseball!" During 1993-95, she appeared in the original Broadway production of Neil Simon's '' Laughter on the 23rd Floor''. In 2002, Schram landed a major role opposite Tony Shalhoub on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

series ''

''. She was released midway through the show's third season. The network stated they had "decided to go in a different creative direction with some of its characters." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' reported that "some members of the series' supporting cast, including Schram, Ted Levine and

Jason Gray-Stanford Jason Gray-Stanford (born May 19, 1970) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor. He is best known for playing Lieutenant Randy Disher in the Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe-winning TV program ''Monk'' and for voicing the role of Raditz in ''Dr ...

, attempted to renegotiate the terms of their contract and cited Schram's departure as evidence of the industry's "hard line against raise-seeking actors who aren't absolutely essential to the show." Levine and Gray-Stanford remained on the show.

Natalie Teeger The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal ca ...

, played by

Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. Her roles include Sharon Carter on the television series ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series ''Monk''. Early life Howard was born in Orlando, Florida, to Peggy ...

, replaced her character as Monk's assistant. Schram made a guest appearance on one episode of the show's eighth and final season, titled " Mr. Monk and Sharona".Summer TV sizzles with new shows and returning favorites
, ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

''; accessed September 6, 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schram, Bitty 1968 births Actresses from New Jersey American film actresses American television actresses Jewish American actresses Living people People from Mountainside, New Jersey University of Maryland, College Park alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American Jews