S. Epatha Merkerson
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1952-11-28 (72 years old)
Place of Birth
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
S. Epatha Merkerson
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.
Acting
Sexual Healing
as Alberta Gay
(2025)
(2024)
We Grown Now
as Anita
(2021)
Desmond's Not Here Anymore
as Selma
(2020)
(2020)
Barbecue
as Lillie Anne
(2020)
Blood Sugar Rising
as Narrator (voice)
(2016)
Year by the Sea
as Liz
(2016)
You Can Go
as Mrs. Bryant
(2015)
The Challenger
as Jada
(2014)
The Gabby Douglas Story
as Miss Caroline
(2014)
(2013)
Peeples
as Daphne Peeples
(2012)
Lincoln
as Lydia Smith
(2010)
We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918
as Narrator (voice)
(2009)
Mother and Child
as Ada
(2009)
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
as Effa
(2008)
Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
as Narrator (voice)
(2007)
Slipstream
as Bonnie
(2007)
Girl, Positive
as Ariel Winters
(2006)
Black Snake Moan
as Angela
(2006)
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson")
(2005)
Lackawanna Blues
as Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby
(2004)
Jersey Girl
as Doctor #1
(2003)
Radio
as Maggie
(2001)
The Rising Place
as Lessie Watson
(1999)
Random Hearts
as Nea
(1999)
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
as Eslanda Robeson (voice)
(1998)
Exiled
as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
(1998)
An Unexpected Life
as Beverly Hawkins
(1996)
After the Silence
as Barbara
(1995)
A Mother's Prayer
as Ruby
(1994)
A Place for Annie
as Alice
(1993)
It's Nothing Personal
as Louise Waters
(1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
as Tarissa Dyson
(1990)
Jacob's Ladder
as Elsa
(1990)
Navy Seals
as Jolena
(1990)
Loose Cannons
as Rachel
(1990)
(1988)
(1986)
She's Gotta Have It
as Doctor Jamison
Crew
(2013)
The Contradictions of Fair Hope
Director