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