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Beth Littleford

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Beth Littleford
Littleford at the Night of Comedy 9 benefit to support the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation (CAAF) in Beverly Hills, California.
Born (1968-07-17) July 17, 1968 (age 56)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian, television personality
Years active1996–present
Spouse
Rob Fox
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2015)​
Children2[a]

Elizabeth Littleford (born July 17, 1968)[1] is an American actress, comedian and television personality. She is best known as one of the original correspondents on The Daily Show on Comedy Central from 1996 to 2000. Littleford has also appeared in the shows I'm in the Band and Dog with a Blog.

Early life

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Littleford was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of Jackie, a professor, and Philip O. Littleford, a cardiologist and inventor. She grew up in Winter Park, Florida and attended the Park Maitland School. Her father and brother died when she was sixteen in a pontoon plane accident during an Alaskan fishing trip.[2][3] A National Merit Scholarship Program finalist in high school, she attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania for three years before taking up acting classes at New York University; she eventually graduated from The New School for Social Research.[2][4]

Career

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Early in her acting career, Littleford worked in improvisational theatre with the Chicago City Limits group, founded a sketch comedy troupe, and wrote her own one-woman show, This Is Where I Get Off, which she performed with the Circle Repertory Company.[2][5] Littleford is perhaps most famous for her pioneering role as one of the original female correspondents on The Daily Show. Littleford's segments on the show were satirical celebrity interviews in the style of Barbara Walters, and used soft focus cinematography for comic effect, in that almost nothing in the interviews were visually discernable to the viewer.[6] Her time on the Daily Show brought her to the attention of actor/producer Michael J. Fox. Fox was the lead and executive producer of the Sitcom Spin City. Two years after she began on The Daily Show, she secured a recurring part of Deirdre West on Fox's show, Spin City.[7] She has guest-starred on numerous television programs beginning in the late 1990s: The West Wing, Family Guy, and Frasier. Littleford was also a celebrity commentator on VH1's I Love the 80s Strikes Back in 2003, I Love the 90s in 2004, I Love the 90s: Part Deux in 2005, I Love the New Millennium, and The Great Debate in 2009.

She was the female lead on the short-lived Fox series Method and Red, and also starred as Ben Tennyson's mother Sandra in Ben 10: Race Against Time, and reprised the role in the Ben 10: Alien Force episode 20 and again in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. She has appeared in TV commercials for Laughing Cow cheese, Cascade, and a[which?] hotel chain.

Littleford starred in the Disney XD original show I'm in the Band, the 2010 Disney Channel film Starstruck, and played Suzanne Berger on MTV's The Hard Times of RJ Berger, Dana on ABC's Desperate Housewives, and the realtor on The Fosters. More recently, she had a starring role as Ellen Jennings in the Disney Channel original series Dog with a Blog and a guest appearance on Dead to Me on Netflix.

In 2015, Littleford received a Peabody Award for her groundbreaking work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1996 to 2000 as the show's "Original Female Correspondent."

In 2021, Littleford was in the film Senior Moment starring William Shatner, Jean Smart and Christopher Lloyd.

Personal life

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Littleford lives in Los Angeles. She was married to Rob Fox, a director and producer who worked alongside her on The Daily Show, from 1998 to 2015; they had a son (b. 2005) and an adopted daughter (b. 2012). Fox died in 2017.[4][8][9][10]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 A Cool, Dry Place Suzanne
1999 The 24 Hour Woman Lynn Shapiro
Mystery, Alaska Janice Pettiboe
Picture This Patty
2008 Drillbit Taylor Barbara Drennan
2009 Veiled Marie Short
2011 Crazy, Stupid, Love Claire
2012 Music High Lucy Bates
Kidnap Party Alison Slater
2013 It's Not You, It's Me Sandy
Movie 43 Mrs. Cutler
2017 Random Tropical Paradise Martha Crandall
2018 I'll Be Next Door for Christmas Fran Christmas comedy film written and directed by David Jay Willis
2021 Senior Moment Tess Woodson Feature Film - Released theatrically and on demand

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1996–2000 The Daily Show Herself Original Female Correspondent
1998–2000 Spin City Deirdre West Recurring role
2001 Boston Public Marcia Fennel Episode: "Chapter 24"
2002 The West Wing WKZN Philadelphia Anchor Leslie Episode: "The U.S. Poet Laureate"
Still Standing Kristy Duncan Episode: "Still in School"
What I Like About You Susan Episode: "Copy That"
Andy Richter Controls the Universe Reggie Meadows Episode: "The Show Might Go On"
2002–03 Greetings from Tucson Marna 2 episodes
Life with Bonnie Dr. 'Mrs.' Casey 2 episodes
2003 The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke Laurie Laemke TV film
2003–04 One on One Geraldine Murphy Recurring role
2004 Method & Red Nancy Blaford Main role
Frasier Creationism Date Episode: "Match Game" (season 11)
2005 Joey Carla Episode: "Joey and the Premiere"
2006 Rodney Amy O'Brien Episode: "Rodney Gets a Leg Up"
Love, Inc. Charlene Episode: "Anything But Love"
2006–12 Family Guy Various (voice) Guest role
2007 Without a Trace Diane Neese Episode: "Two of Us"
Ben 10: Race Against Time Sandra Tennyson TV film
2008 Samantha Who? Audrey Rhodes Episode: "The Girlfriend"
Ben 10: Alien Force Sandra Tennyson (voice) Episode: "Grounded"
2009 Take 2 Amy TV film
2009–10 Rules of Engagement Laura 3 episodes
2009–11 I'm in the Band Beth Campbell Recurring role
2010 StarStruck Barbara Olson TV film
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Nurse Mona Episode: "Field Mice"
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Sandra Tennyson (voice) Episode: "Hit 'Em Where They Live"
The New Adventures of Old Christine Tony Kershaw Episode: "Get Smarter"
Neighbors from Hell Various (voice) Recurring role
CSI: Miami Elena Manus Episode: "Sleepless in Miami"
2010–11 The Hard Times of RJ Berger Suzanne Berger Recurring role
2010–13 The Cleveland Show Various (voice) Guest role
2011 Desperate Housewives Dana 2 episodes
2012 Melissa & Joey Suzanne Haber Episode: "Good to Go"
Mad Tasha / Various (voice) 1 episode
2012–15 Dog with a Blog Ellen Jennings Main role
2013 The Mindy Project Helen Episode: "Mindy's Minute"
2013–14 Ben 10: Omniverse Sandra Tennyson Voice, 3 episodes
2016 Mistresses Lindsay Lehman Episode: "Under Pressure"
Unwanted Guest Anna Roberts TV film
2016–17 The Fosters Realtor 3 episodes
2017 2 Broke Girls Bonnie Episode: "And the Stalking Dead"
Liberty Crossing Special Agent Margaret Smith Episode: "Comfort Zones"
2018 My Dead Ex Laurel Recurring
2019 Dead to Me Doug's Wife Episode: "I Can Handle It"
Home Is Where the Killer Is Patricia Wade TV film
2020–21 Love, Victor Sarah Hulu Original Series

Podcasts

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 Gossip Rockin' Robin 12 episodes

Notes

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  1. ^ One biological child and one adopted child.

References

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  1. ^ Willis, John A. (1998). John Willis' Theatre World. Crown Publishers. p. 230. ISBN 9781557833235.
  2. ^ a b c Gray, Tyler (January 13, 1998). "Spice girl". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Hayes, Ed (June 18, 1985). "Youngster's spirit still leads the way". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "WEDDINGS; Ms. Littleford And Mr. Fox". The New York Times. July 5, 1998. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  5. ^ Blake, Leslie (February 21, 2001). "ON LOCATION With 'Picture This'". Backstage. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Blake, Meredith (July 22, 2021). "The true story of the women who made 'The Daily Show' — and were 'erased' from its legacy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Fretts, Bruce (April 30, 1999). "Beth Littleford and Stephen Colbert take flight From Spin City to SNL, The Daily Show's rising stars are TV's moonlighters du jour". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  8. ^ "Beth Littleford Welcomes Daughter Halcyon Juna". People. March 24, 2012. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Lentz, Harris M. (2018). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2017. McFarland. pp. 143–. ISBN 978-1-4766-3318-3. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  10. ^ "Beth Littleford & the mid-life crisis". Taboo Tales. November 3, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
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