Meredith Eaton

Though standing only 4'2" (4'3" with shoes), Meredith Eaton made a big impression when she beat out 2000 other applicants during a casting call for the made-for-cable movie, "Unconditional Love" (2002), launching her unexpected career as an actress. Born on Aug. 26, 1974 in Long Island, NY, Eaton pursued a career in psychology, attending Adelphi University where she earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Eaton later earned her master's and was accepted to her dream Ph.

D program, when she heard about the open casting call for "Unconditional Love." The comic murder-mystery featured Kathy Bates as Grace, a middle-aged Midwestern woman who, after losing the two most important men in her life - her husband (Dan Aykroyd) and her favorite pop star (Jonathan Pryce) - travels to England to help the star's secret lover (Rupert Everett) find his killer. Eaton had a superfluous, but exceedingly funny role as Grace's aggressive and anxiety-ridden daughter-in-law who must deal with her husband walking out on her. Writer-director Paul Haggis loved Eaton's performance so much that he wrote the role of ultra-aggressive lawyer Emily Resnick on "Family Law" (CBS, 1999-2002) just for her. After the drama was cancelled, Eaton appeared in episodes of "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15) and "House" (Fox, 2004-12). She then landed a recurring role on "Boston Legal" (ABC, 2004-08), playing Bethany, a feisty lawyer whose habit for biting people she doesn't like - earning her the nickname "The Badger" - both repulses and attracts Denny Crane (William Shatner), with whom she engages in a politically incorrect romance.