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