Elizabeth Natalie "Bitty" Schram (born July 17, 1968) is an American actress most widely known for having played Sharona Fleming in the television series Monk.
Born in Mountainside, New Jersey, Schram studied at the University of Maryland on a tennis scholarship and graduated with a degree in advertising design. Having known for a number of years that she wanted to act, she pursued roles in both film and television as well as Broadway theater. The role that initially brought her note was Evelyn Gardner, the Rockford Peaches' right fielder, in the Penny Marshall directed film A League of Their Own. Schram's character was the focus of the now famous line uttered by manager Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), "There's no crying in baseball!"
During 1993-95, she appeared in the original Broadway production of Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor.
In 2002, Schram landed a major role opposite Tony Shalhoub on the USA Network series Monk. She was released midway through the show's third season. The network stated they had "decided to go in a different creative direction with some of its characters". MSNBC reported that "some members of the series' supporting cast, including Schram, Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford, attempted to renegotiate the terms of their contract[s]" and cited Schram's departure as evidence of the industry's "hard line against raise-seeking actors who aren't absolutely essential to the show." Levine and Gray-Stanford remained on the show. Natalie Teeger, played by Traylor Howard, replaced her character as Monk's assistant. Schram made a guest appearance on one episode of the show's eighth and final season, entitled "Mr. Monk and Sharona".
Roles
Television
List of television performancesYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|
1999 | G vs E | Ani | Episode: "Gee Your Hair Smells Evil" |
2001 | Strong Medicine | Juno Bouvoir | Episode: "Fix" |
2001 | Roswell | Bunny | Episode: "Secrets and Lies" |
2001–2002 | Felicity | Rita | Three episodes |
2002–2004, 2009 | Monk | Sharona Fleming | 39 episodes; was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy |
2005 | Kitchen Confidential | Reese Ryder | Guest appearance in the show's first episode |
2006 | Thief | Lila Granville | 2 Episodes |
2009 | Ghost Whisperer | Jody | Episode: "This Joint's Haunted" |
Films
List of film performancesYear | Title | Role | Notes |
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1992 | Fathers & Sons | Terry | |
1992 | A League of Their Own | Evelyn Gardner | |
1993 | The Night We Never Met | Pharmacy Clerk | |
1993 | My Family Treasure | Young Alexandra | |
1994 | Chasers | Flo | |
1994 | Full Cycle | Sofie | |
1995 | Long Island Fever | Penny | |
1996 | Pallbearer, TheThe Pallbearer | Lauren | |
1996 | Caught | Amy | |
1996 | Marvin's Room | Janine | |
1996 | One Fine Day | Marla | |
1998 | Cleopatra's Second Husband | Hallie | |
1998 | Kissing a Fool | Vicki Pelam | |
2001 | Tag, TheThe Tag | Gina | |
2002 | Unconditional Love | Waitress | |
2004 | Sure Hand of God, TheThe Sure Hand of God | Christine Bigbee | |
2006 | A-List | Samantha | |
2007 | You've Got a Friend | Miss Jackie Nelson | |
2015 | Moments of Clarity | Officer Lori | Nominated — Maverick Movie Awards for Best Ensemble Acting: Feature |