Meredith Hope Eaton (sometimes credited as Meredith Eaton-Gilden; born August 26, 1974) is an American actress. She is 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and refers to herself as a "short-stature actress". She is known for portraying the attorney Emily Resnick on the CBS television series Family Law (in which she was the first female dwarf to fill a regular role in an American prime time series), and for her recurring role as Bethany Horowitz on the ABC series Boston Legal.
Eaton was born on Long Island, New York, to a clinical social worker mother and an administrative law judge father. She attended Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, where she was an active member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority; she graduated in 1996 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, minoring in theater. In June 2007, she was named by Hofstra University as their Alumnus of the Month.
She later earned a master's degree in clinical psychology from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University, where she achieved a 4.0 grade point average. She would later credit her training in psychology for giving her a better ability to understand character dynamics in preparing for acting roles.