Meredith Eaton

Meredith Hope Eaton (sometimes credited as Meredith Eaton-Gilden; born August 26, 1974)[1] is an American actress. She is 4 feet (1.2 m) tall[2] and refers to herself as a "short-stature actress".[1][3] She is known for portraying the attorney Emily Resnick on the CBS television series Family Law (in which she was the first female with dwarfism to fill a regular role in an American prime time series), for her recurring role as Bethany Horowitz on the ABC series Boston Legal, and for her lead role as Matilda "Matty" Webber on the CBS series MacGyver.

Meredith Eaton
Born	August 26, 1974 Long Island, New York U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present
Height	4 ft (122 cm)
Spouse(s)	Michael Gilden ​ ​ (m. 2001; died 2006)​ Brian S. Gordon ​ (m. 2008)​

Early life

Eaton was born on Long Island, New York, to a clinical social worker mother and an administrative law judge father. She attended Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, where she was an active member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority; she graduated in 1996 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, minoring in theater. In June 2007, she was named by Hofstra University as their Alumnus of the Month.[3]

She later earned a master's degree in clinical psychology from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University, where she achieved a 4.0 grade point average.[3] She would later credit her training in psychology for giving her a better ability to understand character dynamics in preparing for acting roles.[2][3]

Professional career

Eaton, right, at the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, May 2007. (Pictured with Martin Klebba.)

Eaton's acting career began in 1999 when she attended an open casting call for the comedy film Unconditional Love. 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.[4]

Unconditional Love was not released until 2002. Her performance was seen by Paul Haggis, who created the role of Emily Resnick for her on Family Law.[4] 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, Dharma & Greg, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, House and NCIS. She also appeared as herself in Standing Tall at Auschwitz, which was a History Channel documentary on the Ovitz family, and in No Bigger Than a Minute, an independent documentary on dwarfism which aired on the PBS program P.O.V.[5]

In 2006, she joined the cast of Boston Legal as Bethany Horowitz, a love interest to William Shatner's character Denny Crane. The role was written specifically for her by David E. Kelley.[6]

Meredith has portrayed Carol Wilson, a recurring character on CBS' NCIS for over 6 seasons and its spin-off NCIS: New Orleans, an immunologist who works for the CDC and is a friend of forensic scientist Abby Sciuto. In 2013 Meredith starred opposite Christopher Walken and Bill Nighy in David Hare's Turks & Caicos. In 2016, Meredith 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 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 from 2001 until his suicide in 2006.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Unconditional Love	Maudey Beasley
2009	Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach	Mrs. Tuttle
2011	Paranormal Activity 3	Woman
2013	Paranoia	Hospital Nurse #3
2014	Veronica Mars	Receptionist
2014	Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones	Covena
????	The Ones	Kendra	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	NYPD Blue	Stella Kensington	"Family Ties"
2001	Dharma & Greg	Kate	"Pride & Prejudice"
2001–2002	Family Law	Emily Resnick	Main role
2002	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Melanie Grace	"A Little Murder"
2003	Mr. Ambassador	Melody	TV film
2006	House	Maddy Ralphean	"Merry Little Christmas"
2006–2008	Boston Legal	Bethany Horowitz	Recurring role
2007	Without a Trace	Brenda Spivak	"Claus and Effect"
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Jocelyn Miller	"Inconceivable"
2009–2013	NCIS	Carol Wilson	"Faith", "Devil's Triangle", "Homesick"
2014	Turks & Caicos	Clare Clovis	TV film
2014	NCIS: New Orleans	Carol Wilson	"Carrier"
2015	Battle Creek	Meredith Oberling	Recurring role
2017–Present	MacGyver	Matilda "Matty" Webber	Main role

References

1. Eaton-Gilden, Meredith. "Meredith Eaton Biography". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
2. Matthew Roloff. "Little People, Big World: Matt's Chats". The Learning Channel (Podcast). Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2013. External link in |website= (help)
3. "Alumnus of the Month". Hofstra University. June 2007. Archived from the original on June 21, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
4. DuBois, Stephanie. "TV RISING STAR: Meredith Eaton Casting a Giant Shadow". Netscape Celebrity. Netscape. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
5. "No Bigger Than a Minute". Public Broadcasting Service. 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
6. Beck, Marilyn; Jenel Smith, Stacy (2007). "Just Getting Started". Netscape Celebrity. Netscape. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2007.

External links

• Meredith Eaton at IMDb
• Clip from the documentary No Bigger Than a Minute (video)