S. Epatha Merkerson
43 movies · 14 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Nov 28, 1952 (age 73)
- Place of birth
- Saginaw, Michigan, USA
- Also known as
- Epatha Merkerson
Biography
S. Epatha Merkerson (born Sharon Epatha Merkerson) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has won a Golden Globe, Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, Obie Award, 4 NAACP Image Awards, and 2 Tony Award nominations.
She is best known for her role as NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (1993–2010) on the long-running NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order, as well as the Law & Order TV movie Exiled. She appeared in 390 episodes of the series, more than any other cast member.
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She has a starring role as Sharon Goodwin on NBC's Chicago Med. She also had a recurring role as Reba (the mail carrier) on Pee-wee's Playhouse, and Ms. St. Marth on the TV series Here and Now.
She has appeared in feature films including She's Gotta Have It, Loose Cannons, Jacob's Ladder, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Random Hearts, Radio, Black Snake Moan, Lincoln (2012), and Peeples. She has also appeared in TV movies including A Place for Annie, A Mother's Prayer, Breaking Through, Lackawanna Blues, and The Gabby Douglas Story.
Known for
S. Epatha Merkerson: movies and TV shows
Acting (56)
- Upcoming Sexual Healing
as Alberta Gay
- Upcoming
- 2025 Eye for an Eye
as May
- 2024 We Grown Now
as Anita
- 2023
- 2021 Desmond's Not Here Anymore
as Selma
- 2020 Barbecue
as Lillie Anne
- 2020
- 2020 Blood Sugar Rising
as Narrator (voice)
- 2016 You Can Go
as Mrs. Bryant
- 2016 Year by the Sea
as Liz
- 2015
- 2015 The Challenger
as Jada
- 2014 The Gabby Douglas Story
as Miss Caroline
- 2014
- 2013 Peeples
as Daphne Peeples
- 2012 Lincoln
as Lydia Smith
- 2012
- 2010 We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918
as Narrator (voice)
- 2009 Mother and Child
as Ada
- 2009
- 2009 The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
as Effa
- 2008 Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
as Narrator (voice)
- 2007 Girl, Positive
as Ariel Winters
- 2007 Slipstream
as Bonnie
- 2006 Black Snake Moan
as Angela
- 2006 The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson")
- 2005
- 2005
- 2005 Lackawanna Blues
as Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby
- 2004 Jersey Girl
as Doctor #1
- 2003 Radio
as Maggie
- 2001
- 2001 The Rising Place
as Lessie Watson
- 1999 Random Hearts
as Nea
- 1999 Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
as Eslanda Robeson (voice)
- 1998 Exiled
as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
- 1998 An Unexpected Life
as Beverly Hawkins
- 1996 After the SIlence
as Barbara
- 1995 A Mother's Prayer
as Ruby
- 1994 A Place for Annie
as Alice
- 1993
- 1993 It's Nothing Personal
as Louise Waters
- 1992
- 1992
- 1992 Second Chances
as Ruth Clayton
- 1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day
as Tarissa Dyson
- 1990 Jacob's Ladder
as Elsa
- 1990
- 1990 Navy Seals
as Jolena
- 1990
- 1990 Loose Cannons
as Rachel
- 1988
- 1986
- 1986 She's Gotta Have It
as Doctor Jamison
- 1984
Behind the camera (1)
- 2013 The Contradictions of Fair Hope
Director
Talk shows and appearances (10)
- 2014
- 2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
1 episode
- 2012 Finding Your Roots
2 episodes
- 2006 Rachael Ray
1 episode
- 2003 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
1 episode
- 1997 The View
1 episode
- 1988 LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1 episode
- 1956 Tony Awards
1 episode
- 1952 Today
1 episode
- 1949 The Emmy Awards
1 episode