S. Epatha Merkerson
Acting
Born: November 28, 1952 (age 73) · Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Highest Rated
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. 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
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991
Lincoln
2012
Chicago P.D.
2014
Chicago Fire
2012
Jacob's Ladder
1990
Chicago Med
2015
Jersey Girl
2004
Black Snake Moan
2006
Frasier
1993
Radio
2003
Law & Order
1990
The Good Wife
2009
Photos (4)
Movies (39)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Tarissa Dyson
Radio
Maggie
Lincoln
Lydia Smith
Jacob's Ladder
Elsa
Eye for an Eye
May
Black Snake Moan
Angela
Jersey Girl
Doctor #1
Navy Seals
Jolena
Random Hearts
Nea
Mother and Child
Ada
Slipstream
Bonnie
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
Effa
We Grown Now
Anita
Loose Cannons
Rachel
She's Gotta Have It
Doctor Jamison
Peeples
Daphne Peeples
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson")
The Challenger
Jada
After the SIlence
Barbara
The Gabby Douglas Story
Miss Caroline
Exiled
Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
Barbecue
Lillie Anne
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
Belize
A Place for Annie
Alice
Moe's World
1990
Lackawanna Blues
Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby
It's Nothing Personal
Louise Waters
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
Reba
The Rising Place
Lessie Watson
Girl, Positive
Ariel Winters
A Mother's Prayer
Ruby
An Unexpected Life
Beverly Hawkins
Year by the Sea
Liz
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Eslanda Robeson (voice)
Desmond's Not Here Anymore
Selma
You Can Go
Mrs. Bryant
Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
Narrator (voice)
Blood Sugar Rising
Narrator (voice)
We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918
Narrator (voice)
TV Shows (15)
Law & Order
Denise Winters · 1 eps
Law & Order
Anita Van Buren · 390 eps
Chicago Fire
Sharon Goodwin · 9 eps
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Anita Van Buren · 1 eps
Frasier
Dr. McCaskill · 1 eps
Chicago P.D.
Sharon Goodwin · 7 eps
The Good Wife
Judge Melanie Ellis · 1 eps
Chicago Med
Sharon Goodwin · 220 eps
The Closer
Dr. Rebecca Dioli · 3 eps
The Cosby Show
Elena · 1 eps
Poker Face
Joyce Carter · 1 eps
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Anita Van Buren · 1 eps
Pee-wee's Playhouse
Reba · 45 eps
Here and Now
Claudia St. Marth · 15 eps
Mann & Machine
Capt. Margaret Claghorn · 9 eps
Self / Appearances (10)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · 1 eps
The View
Self · 1 eps
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee · 1 eps
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self · 1 eps
Today
Self · 1 eps
Finding Your Roots
Self · 2 eps
Rachael Ray
Self · 1 eps
The Emmy Awards
Self · 1 eps
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
