S. Epatha Merkerson

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: Acting

Born: Saginaw, Michigan, USA, 1952-11-28

Died: null

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1986	She's Gotta Have It	Doctor Jamison	67
2	1988	Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special	Reba	72
3	1990	Loose Cannons	Rachel	49
4	1990	Moe's World		0
5	1990	Navy Seals	Jolena	53
6	1990	Jacob's Ladder	Elsa	74
7	1991	Terminator 2: Judgment Day	Tarissa Dyson	81
8	1992	Second Chances	Ruth Clayton	0
9	1993	It's Nothing Personal	Louise Waters	0
10	1994	A Place for Annie	Alice	60
11	1995	A Mother's Prayer	Ruby	85
12	1996	Breaking Through	Barbara	72
13	1998	An Unexpected Life	Beverly Hawkins	45
14	1998	Exiled	Lieutenant Anita Van Buren	55
15	1999	Paul Robeson: Here I Stand	Eslanda Robeson (voice)	0
16	1999	Random Hearts	Nea	55
17	2001	The Rising Place	Lessie Watson	60
18	2003	Radio	Maggie	73
19	2004	Jersey Girl	Doctor #1	62
20	2005	Lackawanna Blues	Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby	59
21	2006	The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays	Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson")	0
22	2006	Black Snake Moan	Angela	68
23	2007	Slipstream	Bonnie	49
24	2007	Girl, Positive	Ariel Winters	61
25	2008	Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun	Narrator (voice)	80
26	2009	The Six Wives of Henry Lefay	Effa	52
27	2009	Mother and Child	Ada	66
28	2010	We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918	Narrator (voice)	65
29	2012	Lincoln	Lydia Smith	69
30	2013	Peeples	Daphne Peeples	56
31	2014	The Gabby Douglas Story	Miss Caroline	73
32	2014	Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee	Self	15
33	2015	The Challenger	Jada	59
34	2016	Year by the Sea	Liz	80
35	2016	You Can Go	Mrs. Bryant	50
36	2020	Blood Sugar Rising	Narrator (voice)	0
37	2020	The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America	Belize	100
38	2020	Barbecue	Lillie Anne	0
39	2021	Desmond's Not Here Anymore	Selma	0
40	2024	We Grown Now	Anita	67
41	2025	Eye for an Eye	May	87
42		Sexual Healing	Alberta Gay	0
43		After All		0

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1952	Today	Self	58
2	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Nominee	51
3	1984	The Cosby Show	Elena	70
4	1986	Pee-wee's Playhouse	Reba	73
5	1988	LIVE with Kelly and Mark	Self - Guest	56
6	1990	Law & Order	Anita Van Buren	74
7	1990	Law & Order	Denise Winters	74
8	1992	Mann & Machine	Capt. Margaret Claghorn	70
9	1992	Here and Now	Claudia St. Marth	60
10	1993	Frasier	Dr. McCaskill	77
11	1997	The View	Self	45
12	2001	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Lieutenant Anita Van Buren	76
13	2003	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Self	57
14	2005	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Anita Van Buren	81
15	2005	The Closer	Dr. Rebecca Dioli	79
16	2006	Rachael Ray	Self	51
17	2009	The Good Wife	Judge Melanie Ellis	76
18	2012	Finding Your Roots	Self	62
19	2012	Chicago Fire	Sharon Goodwin	84
20	2014	Chicago P.D.	Sharon Goodwin	84
21	2014	The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	Self	59
22	2015	Chicago Med	Sharon Goodwin	83
23	2023	Poker Face	Joyce Carter	76

S. Epatha Merkerson

Film

Television