S. Epatha Merkerson | |
|---|---|
 Merkerson in 2017 | |
| Born | (1952-11-28)November 28, 1952 (age 72) Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. |
| Education | Wayne State University (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1976–present |
S. Epatha Merkerson[a] (bornSharon Epatha Merkerson; November 28, 1952) is an American actress. She has received accolades for her work, including anEmmy Award, aGolden Globe Award, aScreen Actors Guild Award, fourNAACP Image Awards, twoObie Awards, and twoTony Award nominations. She is known for her portrayal ofNYPD LieutenantAnita Van Buren on theNBCpolice procedural drama seriesLaw & Order, a role she played from 1993 to 2010, appearing in 388 episodes of the series.[5][6] She is also known for playing Reba the Mail Lady onPee-wee's Playhouse and Sharon Goodwin in the NBC medical dramaChicago Med since the series premiered in November 2015 (and incrossover appearances onChicago Fire andChicago P.D.).
Merkerson was born Sharon Epatha Merkerson in Saginaw, Michigan, and raised in Detroit.[7][8][9] She is the youngest of five children raised by her mother Ann who worked for the post office.[7]
During a segment on the January 31, 2012, episode ofThe Wendy Williams Show, when asked about the origin of her name, Merkerson said that "Epatha" was the name of "a grade-school teacher who was influential in keeping her father in school".[5] Merkerson graduated fromCooley High School in 1970 and earned herBachelor of Fine Arts in theatre atWayne State University in 1976.[9][8] She then went on to obtain her master's degree in fine arts fromNew York University in 1978. She was made an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Wayne State University in May 2009[10] and received the same distinction from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 2012, from Montclair State University in 2013, and from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017.
In 1978, she moved to New York City.[9]
Merkerson made her television debut as Reba the Mail Lady onPee-wee's Playhouse. Merkerson has also appeared onThe Cosby Show, among other series.[10]
She first appeared in theNBC police procedural dramaLaw & Order in "Mushrooms" (Season 1: Episode 17) as the grief-stricken mother of an 11-month-old boy who is shot accidentally. Her performance impressed the producers enough to select Merkerson to replaceDann Florek as detective squad chief in the series' fourth season, making her one of the few actors to secure a recurring role after an initial single appearance on the show.
Merkerson's career began to rise after she assumed the lead role in the one-woman playLady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. That was followed by her performance as Berniece inAugust Wilson'sPulitzer Prize–winning playThe Piano Lesson. For that, she was nominated for aTony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play. Merkerson has also won 2 Obie Awards for her work inI'm Not Stupid andBirdie Blue, a Helen Hayes Award forThe Old Settler, and a Lucille Lortel nomination forF**king A bySuzan-Lori Parks.[10] Her screen credits includeJacob's Ladder,Loose Cannons,She's Gotta Have It,James Cameron'sTerminator 2: Judgment Day; andNavy SEALs. In 2006, she won a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild award for her performance in theHBO filmLackawanna Blues. In 2007, she starred as Lola Delaney in the Los Angeles stage production ofWilliam Inge'sCome Back, Little Sheba. In January 2008 the production opened a successful run on Broadway and earned Merkerson her second Tony nomination.
On April 1, 2010, it was confirmed that after 17 seasons, Merkerson would leaveLaw & Order at the end of the show's twentieth season.[6] Her departure fromLaw & Order, which aired on May 24, 2010, was also the show's final episode. In total, Merkerson appeared on the series for 17 consecutive seasons—395 episodes—which was more than any other actor associated with the program.[11]
In 2012, Merkerson became the host ofFind Our Missing, a reality-reenactment series onTV One which profiles missingpeople of color.[12] She performed inSteven Spielberg's 2012 filmLincoln asLydia Hamilton Smith, housekeeper toTommy Lee Jones's character, CongressmanThaddeus Stevens.
In 2014, Merkerson appeared in thePrimary Stages production ofWhile I Yet Live, written byBilly Porter. In 2015, she joined the cast ofNBC medical dramaChicago Med as Sharon Goodwin, Chief of Patient and Medical Services. The series was conceived and written byLaw & Order creatorDick Wolf, along withMatt Olmstead,Derek Haas andMichael Brandt.[13] 2014, Merkerson became a spokesperson for Merck America's Diabetes Challenge, to increaseType 2 diabetes awareness among African Americans.[14]
Merkerson appeared on the television series ofHenry Louis Gates'Finding Your Roots on February 5, 2019 (Season 5, Episode 5), in which she revealed that she was a descendant of Isaac Hawkins and eight others of the 272 enslaved people who were sold in the1838 Jesuit slave sale by Jesuit priests. These priests owned plantations on which the enslaved people tilled tobacco; proceeds from the sale were used to pay off the debts of the Jesuit-operated Georgetown College (nowGeorgetown University).[15][9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | She's Gotta Have It | Dr. Jamison | |
| 1990 | Loose Cannons | Officer Rachel | |
| Jacob's Ladder | Elsa | ||
| Navy SEALs | Jolena 'Jo' | ||
| 1991 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Tarissa Dyson | |
| 1999 | Random Hearts | Nea | |
| 2001 | The Rising Place | Lessie Watson | |
| 2003 | Radio | Maggie | |
| 2004 | Jersey Girl | Doctor | |
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Rachel "Nanny" Crosby | |
| 2006 | Black Snake Moan | Angela | |
| 2007 | Slipstream | Bonnie | |
| 2009 | The Six Wives of Henry Lefay | Effa | |
| Mother and Child | Ada | ||
| 2012 | Find Our Missing | Herself | |
| Lincoln | Lydia Smith | ||
| 2013 | Tyler Perry Presents Peeples | Daphne Peeples | |
| 2015 | The Challenger | Jada Miller | |
| 2016 | Year by the Sea | Liz | |
| 2023 | We Grown Now | Anita |
Doctor of Letters,University of Pittsburgh
Montclair State University
Doctor of Letters, Wayne State University
| International | |
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| National | |
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| People | |
| Other | |