1952-11-28 Saginaw, Michigan, USA
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.
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Eye for an Eye | May | 2025-07-03 |
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We Grown Now | Anita | 2024-04-19 |
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Desmond's Not Here Anymore | Selma | 2021-09-23 |
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Blood Sugar Rising | Narrator (voice) | 2020-04-15 |
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Barbecue | Lillie Anne | 2020-12-10 |
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The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America | Belize | 2020-10-08 |
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Year by the Sea | Liz | 2016-04-16 |
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You Can Go | Mrs. Bryant | 2016-09-29 |
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The Challenger | Jada | 2015-03-28 |
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Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee | Self | 2014-06-22 |
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The Gabby Douglas Story | Miss Caroline | 2014-02-01 |
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Peeples | Daphne Peeples | 2013-05-09 |
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Lincoln | Lydia Smith | 2012-11-09 |
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We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918 | Narrator (voice) | 2010-01-15 |
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Mother and Child | Ada | 2009-11-07 |
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The Six Wives of Henry Lefay | Effa | 2009-06-18 |
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Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun | Narrator (voice) | 2008-08-16 |
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Girl, Positive | Ariel Winters | 2007-06-25 |
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Slipstream | Bonnie | 2007-02-10 |
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Black Snake Moan | Angela | 2006-12-31 |
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The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson") | 2006-05-02 |
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Lackawanna Blues | Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby | 2005-02-12 |
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Jersey Girl | Doctor #1 | 2004-03-25 |
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Radio | Maggie | 2003-10-24 |
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The Rising Place | Lessie Watson | 2001-02-01 |
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Paul Robeson: Here I Stand | Eslanda Robeson (voice) | 1999-02-24 |
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Random Hearts | Nea | 1999-10-08 |
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An Unexpected Life | Beverly Hawkins | 1998-06-24 |
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Exiled | Lieutenant Anita Van Buren | 1998-11-08 |
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Breaking Through | Barbara | 1996-12-30 |
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A Mother's Prayer | Ruby | 1995-05-25 |
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A Place for Annie | Alice | 1994-05-01 |
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It's Nothing Personal | Louise Waters | 1993-02-01 |
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Second Chances | Ruth Clayton | 1992-04-02 |
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Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Tarissa Dyson | 1991-07-03 |
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Jacob's Ladder | Elsa | 1990-11-02 |
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Navy Seals | Jolena | 1990-07-20 |
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Loose Cannons | Rachel | 1990-02-09 |
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Moe's World | 1990-07-14 | |
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Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special | Reba | 1988-12-21 |
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She's Gotta Have It | Doctor Jamison | 1986-08-08 |
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Sexual Healing | Alberta Gay | |
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After All |
