Sharon Epatha Merkerson (born November 28, 1952) is a film,

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

, and television actor. Known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

S. Epatha Merkerson, she has received numerous high-profile accolades for her work, including an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, a

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

, four

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

, two

Obie Awards The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

and two

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nominations. She is best known for her award-winning portrayal of Lieutenant

Anita Van Buren Anita Van Buren was a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series '' Law & Order'', portrayed by S. Epatha Merkerson. The character of Van Buren was an "authoritative lieutenant" in the New Yor ...

on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

drama series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', a role she played from 1993 to 2010, appearing in 388 episodes of the series. She is also known for playing Reba the Mail Lady on ''

Pee-wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's po ...

'' and Sharon Goodwin in the NBC medical drama ''

Chicago Med ''Chicago Med'' is an American medical drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, and is the third installment of Wolf Entertainment's ''Chicago'' franchise. The series premiered on NBC on November 17, 2015. ''Chicago Med'' ...

'' since the series premiered in November 2015 (and in

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

appearances on '' Chicago Fire'' and ''

Chicago P.D. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind th ...

'')

Early life

Merkerson was born in Saginaw, Michigan but raised in Detroit. She is the youngest of five children (Linda Merkerson, Debbie Merkerson-Gooch, Barrie Merkerson, and Zephry Merkerson) raised by their mother, Ann, who worked for the post office. During a segment on the January 31, 2012, episode of ''

The Wendy Williams Show ''The Wendy Williams Show'' (often shortened to ''Wendy'') is an American syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show is distributed by Debmar-Me ...

'', 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". Merkerson graduated from

Cooley High School Thomas M. Cooley High School is located at the intersection of Hubbell Avenue and Chalfonte Street, on the northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. The three-story, Mediterranean Revival-style facility opened its doors on September 4, 1928. The scho ...

in 1970 and earned her

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in theatre at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in 1976. She was made an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Wayne State University in May 2009 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.

Career

In 1978 she moved to New York City. Merkerson made her television debut as Reba the Mail Lady on ''

''. Merkerson has also appeared on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...

'', among other series. She first appeared in the

police procedural drama ''

'' 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 replace

Dann Florek Ezekial Dann Florek (born May 1, 1950) is an American actor and film director. He is best known for his role as New York City Police Captain Donald Cragen on NBC's '' Law & Order'' and its spinoff '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and Dav ...

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 play ''

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill ''Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill'' is a musical with music by Lanie Robertson, recounting some events in the life of Billie Holiday. The play premiered in 1986 at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and soon played Off-Broadway. The p ...

''. That was followed by her performance as Berniece in

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

–winning play ''

The Piano Lesson ''The Piano Lesson'' is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir nga se ...

''. For that, she was nominated for a

as Best Featured Actress in a Play. Merkerson has also won 2 Obie Awards for her work in ''I'm Not Stupid'' and ''Birdie Blue'', a Helen Hayes Award for ''The Old Settler'', and a Lucille Lortel nomination for ''F**king A'' by

Suzan-Lori Parks Suzan-Lori Parks (born May 10, 1963) is an American playwright, screenwriter, musician and novelist. Her 2001 play ''Topdog/Underdog'' won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002; Parks was the first African-American woman to receive the award for d ...

. Her screen credits include ''

Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder ( he, סֻלָּם יַעֲקֹב ) is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of th ...

'', '' Loose Cannons'', ''

She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Spike Lee. Filmed on a small budget and Lee's first feature-length film to be released, it earned positive reviews and lau ...

'',

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...

's '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''; and ''

Navy Seals The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...

''. In 2006, she won a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild award for her performance in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

film ''

Lackawanna Blues ''Lackawanna Blues'' is an American play written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson that premiered in 2001. It was later adapted as a television movie that aired in 2005. The play dramatizes the character of the author's primary caregiver when he was growi ...

''. In 2007, she starred as Lola Delaney in the Los Angeles stage production of

William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...

's '' Come 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 leave ''

'' at the end of the show's twentieth season. Her departure from ''Law & 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. In 2012, Merkerson became the host of ''Find Our Missing'', a reality-reenactment series on TV One which profiles missing

people of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

. She performed in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

's 2012 film ''

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

'' as

Lydia Hamilton Smith Lydia Hamilton Smith (February 14, 1813 – February 14, 1884) was the long-time housekeeper of Thaddeus Stevens and a prominent black businesswoman after his death. Early life Lydia Hamilton was born at Russell Tavern near Gettysburg in Adams ...

, housekeeper to

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...

's character, Congressman

Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of sla ...

. In 2014, Merkerson appeared in the

Primary Stages Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years at 354 West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theaters. In 2014, the ...

production of ''While I Yet Live'', written by Billy Porter. In 2015, she joined the cast of

medical drama ''

'' as Sharon Goodwin, Chief of Patient and Medical Services. The series was conceived and written by ''Law & Order'' creator

Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his Law & Order (franchise), ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four internat ...

, along with

Matt Olmstead Matt Olmstead is an American writer and producer for television shows. Biography Early life Olmstead graduated from California State University, Chico in 1988. He is an alumnus of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. He went to Hollywood i ...

Derek Haas Derek Haas (born June 30, 1970) is an American writer and producer. Life and career Derek Haas attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he earned both his Bachelor of Arts, B.A. and Master of Arts, M.A. in English Literature. He lives ...

and

Michael Brandt Michael Brandt (born October 1, 1968) is an American writer and director. Life and career Brandt is an alumnus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where as an undergrad he earned a BBA and in graduate school earned Master of Arts in Communicat ...

. 2014, Merkerson became a spokesperson for Merck America's Diabetes Challenge, to increase

Type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...

awareness among African Americans.

Personal life

Merkerson appeared on the television series of

Henry Louis Gates Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. (born September 16, 1950) is an American literary critic, professor, historian, and filmmaker, who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African Am ...

' ''

Finding Your Roots ''Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'' is a documentary television series hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. that premiered on March 25, 2012, on PBS. In each episode, celebrities are presented with a "book of life" that is compiled with ...

'' on February 5, 2019 (Season 5, Episode 5), in which he revealed that she was a descendant of Isaac Hawkins and eight others of the 272 enslaved people who were sold in the

1838 Jesuit slave sale On June 19, 1838, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell 272 slaves to two Louisiana planters, Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey, for $115,000 (equivalent to approximately $ in ). This sale was the culmination of a contenti ...

by Jesuit priests. These priests owned plantations on which the enslaved people tilled

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

; proceeds from the sale were used to pay off the debts of the Jesuit-operated Georgetown College (now

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

;Awards * 1992

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

Outstanding Performance (''I'm Not Stupid'') * 1999

Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

Outstanding Lead Actress-Resident Play (''The Old Settler'') * 2002 Regulus Award For her dedication to lung cancer awareness and education *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (''

'') * 2006 SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis University Entertainer of the Year Award * 2006

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries (''

'') * 2006 PRISM Award Performance in a TV-Movie or Miniseries (''

'') * 2006 Obie Award Outstanding Performance (''Birdie Blue'') * 2006

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 2006 NAACP Image Award Best Actress in a Made for TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special (''

'') * 2006

Gracie Allen Award The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary cont ...

Outstanding Female Lead – Miniseries (''

'') *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (''

'') * 2006

Black Reel Award The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...

Best Actress in a Made for TV Movie or Miniseries (''

'') * 2010 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 2011 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 2017 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, University of Pittsburgh * 2013 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, Montclair State University * 2012 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, University of Maryland Eastern Shore * 2009 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, Wayne State University ;Nominations * 1990 Helen Hayes Award Best Actress, Non-Resident Play (''The Piano Lesson'') * 1990

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

Best Actress, Lead Role-Play (''The Piano Lesson'') * 1990 Tony Nomination Best Actress, Featured Role-Play (''The Piano Lesson'') * 1997 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 1998 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 1999 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 2001 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 2003

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

Outstanding Lead Actress (''Fucking A'') * 2003

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

Distinguished Performance (''Fucking A'') * 2005

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television (''

'') * 2006 Vision Award Best Dramatic Performance (''

'') * 2006

Best Actress (''Birdie Blue'') * 2006 Independent Spirit Nomination Best Female Lead (''

'') * 2006 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance (''Birdie Blue'') * 2007 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 2008 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (''

'') * 2008 NAACP Image Award Nomination Best Actress in a Made for TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special (''Girl, Positive'') * 2008 Tony Award Nomination Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (''Come Back, Little Sheba'') * 2008 NAACP Theatre Award Best Lead Female – Equity (''Come Back, Little Sheba'')

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merkerson, S. Epatha 1952 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Detroit Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Living people Obie Award recipients Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Saginaw, Michigan Wayne State University alumni American television actresses African-American actresses American film actresses 20th-century African-American women singers American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses Eastern Michigan University alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni Cooley High School alumni 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people