Traylor Elizabeth Howard was born on June 14, 1966, in Orlando, Florida, to Peggy (née Traylor[3]) and Robert M. Howard, Jr.[2] She is the middle of three children, with an older brother, John R. Howard,[4] and a younger brother. She attended Lake Highland Preparatory School,[5] and worked at SeaWorld Orlando as a teenager.[6] After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in communications, advertising, and English, Howard moved to Los Angeles, California, where she worked for a public relations firm and a greeting card company while performing in local theater productions.[7]
Howard landed her first major television role in 1996 for the NBC sitcom Boston Common, portraying Joy Byrnes, a doctoral student and the love interest of Anthony Clark's Boyd Pritchett, throughout the show's two-season run. Her hometown newspaper, The Orlando Sentinel, panned the show as "magna cum lousy."[8]
From 1998 to 2001, Howard starred as Sharon Carter, the titular "girl" of the ABC sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (titled Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place for the first two seasons), opposite Ryan Reynolds and Richard Ruccolo.[9][10]
In 2002, Howard starred in the short-lived sitcom Bram & Alice alongside Alfred Molina.[14] That same year, she made a guest appearance in the third season of The West Wing.
From 2005 to 2009, Howard starred opposite Tony Shalhoub on the USA Network comedy-drama detective series Monk as the titular character's faithful assistant, Natalie Teeger.[16] Following Monk's conclusion, Howard stepped back from acting to spend more time with her children.[17]
In April 2003, Howard married wine merchant Christian Navarro. The couple divorced in 2005.[21][23]
In November 2006, Howard gave birth to a son, Sabu.[21][24][25]
In 2011, Howard married Jarel Portman, son of architect John C. Portman Jr. They have a son, Julien.[21][26]
In July 2019, Howard was interviewed by Jane Mayer for a New Yorker piece detailing sexual misconduct allegations against former United States SenatorAl Franken, with whom Howard performed on a USO tour in 2005. Howard defended Franken, saying, "I get the whole #MeToo thing, and a whole lot of horrible stuff has happened, and it needed to change. But that's not what was happening here. Franken is a good man."[27]
