Meredith Hope Eaton Gordon (sometimes credited as Meredith Eaton-Gilden; born August 26, 1974)
is an American actress. She is tall,
and refers to herself as a "short-stature actress".
She is known for portraying the attorney Emily Resnick on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
television series ''
Family Law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriag ...
'' (in which she was the first female with
dwarfism
Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...
to fill a regular role in an American
prime time
Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
series), for her recurring role as Bethany Horowitz on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
series ''
Boston Legal
''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...
'', and for her lead role as Matilda "Matty" Webber on the CBS series ''
MacGyver
Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...
''.
Early life
Eaton was born on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, New York, to a clinical
social worker
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
mother and an
administrative law
Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...
judge father. She attended
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...
in
Hempstead, New York
The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census.
It occupies the s ...
, where she was an active member of the
Delta Phi Epsilon sorority; she graduated in 1996 with a degree in
interdisciplinary studies
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
, minoring in theater. In June 2007, she was named by Hofstra University as their
Alumnus
Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
of the Month.
Acting career
Eaton's acting career began in 1999 when she attended an open
casting call
In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenpla ...
for the comedy film ''
Unconditional Love
Unconditional love is known as love without judgment. There are many ways of describing unconditional love, but most will agree that it is that type of love which has no bounds and is unchanging.
In Christianity, unconditional love is thought ...
''. Despite it being her first audition, she won out over 500 women from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom to be cast in the role of Maudey Beasley.
''Unconditional Love'' was not released until 2002. Her performance was seen by
Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...
, who created the role of Emily Resnick for her on ''
Family Law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriag ...
''.
Joining the cast in 2002, she continued with the series until its cancellation later that same year. She later had significant guest appearances on ''
NYPD Blue
''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...
'', ''
Dharma & Greg
''Dharma & Greg'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for five seasons from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002, with a total of 119 episodes.
The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Mont ...
'', ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
'' and ''
NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to:
Law enforcement
* National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom
* Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...
''. She also appeared as herself in ''Standing Tall at Auschwitz'', which was a
History Channel
History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
documentary on the
Ovitz family, and in ''No Bigger Than a Minute'', an independent documentary on
dwarfism
Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...
which aired on the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
program ''
P.O.V.
''POV'' (also written ''P.O.V.'') is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) public television series which features independent nonfiction films. ''POV'' is an initialism for ''point of view''.
''POV'' is the longest-running showcase on television ...
''
In 2006, she joined the cast of ''
Boston Legal
''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...
'' as Bethany Horowitz, a love interest to
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
's character
Denny Crane
''Boston Legal'' is an American legal-comedy-drama created by David E. Kelley. The series, starring James Spader, with Candice Bergen, and William Shatner, was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC. ''Boston Legal ...
. The role was written specifically for her by
David E. Kelley.
Eaton has portrayed Carol Wilson, a recurring character on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
' ''
NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to:
Law enforcement
* National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom
* Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...
'' for over 6 seasons and its spin-off ''
NCIS: New Orleans'', an immunologist who works for the
CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...
and is a friend of forensic scientist
Abby Sciuto
Abigail Beethoven "Abby \ Abbs" Sciuto is a fictional character from the American television series '' NCIS''. She is portrayed by Pauley Perrette; in the season 10 episode "Hit and Run," a young Abby was played by Brighton Sharbino in flashba ...
. In 2013, Meredith starred opposite
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...
and
Bill Nighy
William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Known for his work in numerous stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and ...
in
David Hare's ''
Turks & Caicos
The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and nor ...
''. In 2016, Eaton became a series regular on the CBS show ''MacGyver''. She plays Matilda "Matty" Webber, MacGyver's boss and the new director of operations at The Phoenix Foundation.
Personal life
Eaton earned a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in
clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...
from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...
, where she achieved a
4.0 grade point average.
Between her roles in ''Family Law'' and ''Boston Legal'', Eaton worked as a psychotherapist with patients in a locked unit for the criminally insane at a Los Angeles hospital. She would later credit her training in psychology for giving her a better ability to understand
character dynamics in preparing for acting roles.
Eaton married Brian Gordon on October 12, 2008. Gordon is a professional photographer. They have one child together, a daughter.
Eaton was previously married to
Michael Gilden
Michael Jeffrey Gilden (September 22, 1962 – December 5, 2006) was an American actor with dwarfism.
Biography
The -tall Gilden had a form of dwarfism. He lived and worked in Los Angeles.
Gilden performed or did stunt work in a variety of tel ...
from 2001 until his death in 2006.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
Clipfrom the documentary ''No Bigger Than a Minute'' (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Meredith
American women psychologists
21st-century American psychologists
Actresses from New York (state)
American television actresses
American actors with dwarfism
Hofstra University alumni
Adelphi University alumni
People from Long Island
1974 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
American scientists with disabilities