Beth Littleford

Beth Littleford
Beth Littleford
	Littleford at the Night of Comedy 9 benefit to support the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation (CAAF) in Beverly Hills, California.
Born	July 17, 1968 (age 56); Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, comedian, television personality
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Rob Fox (m. 1998; div. 2015)
Children	2

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

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. 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

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

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

Film

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
2012	Kidnap Party	Alison Slater
2013	It's Not You, It's Me	Sandy
2013	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

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
2002–03	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
2004	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"
2006	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"
2007	Ben 10: Race Against Time	Sandra Tennyson	TV film
2008	Samantha Who?	Audrey Rhodes	Episode: "The Girlfriend"
2008	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"
2012	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"
2016	Unwanted Guest	Anna Roberts	TV film
2016–17	The Fosters	Realtor	3 episodes
2017	2 Broke Girls	Bonnie	Episode: "And the Stalking Dead"
2017	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"
2019	Home Is Where the Killer Is	Patricia Wade	TV film
2020–21	Love, Victor	Sarah	Hulu Original Series

Podcasts

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Gossip	Rockin' Robin	12 episodes

Notes

^ One biological child and one adopted child.

References

^ Willis, John A. (1998). John Willis' Theatre World. Crown Publishers. p. 230. ISBN 9781557833235.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gray, Tyler (January 13, 1998). "Spice girl". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
^ 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.
^ ^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.
^ Blake, Leslie (February 21, 2001). "ON LOCATION With 'Picture This'". Backstage. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ "Beth Littleford Welcomes Daughter Halcyon Juna". People. March 24, 2012. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
^ 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.
^ "Beth Littleford & the mid-life crisis". Taboo Tales. November 3, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2020.

External links

[1] One biological child and one adopted child.

[2] Willis, John A. (1998). John Willis' Theatre World. Crown Publishers. p. 230. ISBN 9781557833235.

[spice-3] Gray, Tyler (January 13, 1998). "Spice girl". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.

[4] 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.

[wedding-5] "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.

[6] Blake, Leslie (February 21, 2001). "ON LOCATION With 'Picture This'". Backstage. Retrieved May 20, 2020.

[7] 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.

[8] 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.

[9] "Beth Littleford Welcomes Daughter Halcyon Juna". People. March 24, 2012. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.

[10] 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.

[11] "Beth Littleford & the mid-life crisis". Taboo Tales. November 3, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2020.

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