[1][2] Although Birkitt frequently appeared on the program as a character named "Vicki", Letterman often called her by various other nicknames, such as "Smitty", "Kitty", "Monty", "Gunther", and "Dutch".
[4] She graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1997,[5] with a bachelor's degree in history and a minor in communications.
[12][4] After graduation she became a member of the CBS page program and worked briefly as an associate producer at 48 Hours on segments for correspondent Erin Moriarty.
[12][4] Deciding she was not "much of a news hound", she applied for a job as an office worker for David Letterman, helping to handle his charities and his Indy car racing team.
After that appearance, Letterman began to call her regularly as an on-air feature of the show, beginning in January 2001.
[3] She appeared during the "CBS Mailbag" segment numerous times, sometimes donning costumes that related to a specific ongoing festival or event.
"[15] In a statement released on October 7, 2009, Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, announced that Birkitt had been placed on a "paid leave of absence" from the Late Show.
[17] Letterman admitted on television that the allegation was true, but did not reveal the names of, or any identifying information about, the female employees.