Mercedes Mason (born Mercedes Masöhn; 3 March 1982) is a Swedish-American actress and former model. She is known for playing the role of Zondra in the television series ''

Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...

'', and Isabel Zambada in the

procedural drama A procedural or procedural drama is a cross-genre type of literature, film, or television program which places emphasis on technical detail. A documentary film may also be written in a procedural style to heighten narrative. A popular subgenre is t ...

'' The Finder''.Cast Biography, FOX Broadcasting Company Official Website
The Finder
, Retrieved 18 December 2011. She also starred in the 2011 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'' Quarantine 2: Terminal'', portrayed Louise Leonard in the supernatural drama series ''

666 Park Avenue ''666 Park Avenue'' is an American supernatural drama television series that aired on ABC from September 30, 2012, to July 13, 2013. The series was developed and produced by David Wilcox, and was loosely based upon the novel of the same name by ...

'' (2012–2013), played Talia Del Campo in '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and was a regular on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

's television series ''

Fear the Walking Dead ''Fear the Walking Dead'' is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson for AMC. It is a spin-off to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same na ...

'' from 2015 to 2017. In 2018 she played Captain Zoe Andersen in ABC Police crime drama '' The Rookie''.

Early life

Mason was born in 1982 in

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and grew up in the neighborhood of Ryd. Her family had emigrated from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. She has one sister. She moved to the United States with her family at the age of 12 and was raised in the Chicago area.

Career

Mason started her career as Mercedes Masöhn on television called the Guyattwith a minor one-episode role in the daytime

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'' in 2005; she returned to the series for two episodes in 2006 as the character Neery. From 2008 to 2011, Mason had various one-episode appearances in series such as ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', '' CSI: NY'' and ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

''. She had her main role debut in film as Jenny in '' Quarantine 2: Terminal'', the 2011 found footage horror movie sequel to ''

Quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

''. Prior to that, she appeared in minor roles in ''

The Break-Up ''The Break-Up'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peyton Reed, based on a story by Jay Lavender, Jeremy Garelick, and Vince Vaughn, with a screenplay by Lavender and Garelick. The film stars Vince Vaughn and Jennifer An ...

'' (2006) and '' Red Sands'' (2009). In 2011, she also starred in the

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film ''

Three Veils ''Three Veils'' is a 2011 film written and directed by Rolla Selbak and starring Sheetal Sheth, Angela Zahra and Mercedes Mason. The film is notable for featuring a lesbian character. Selbak herself is a lesbian. It has won several awards. Plot ...

''. Throughout the following years, Mason played minor or supporting roles in various movies. In 2012, Mason was one of two lead actresses in '' The Finder'' during its lone season. She played Deputy U.S. Marshal Isabel Zambada, the

romantic interest Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions. The ''Wiley Blackwell En ...

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

Walter Sherman (

Geoff Stults Geoffrey Stults (born December 15, 1977) is an American actor. His first regular roles on television included '' 7th Heaven'', '' October Road'', and '' Happy Town''. He went on to star as Major Walter Sherman on '' The Finder'' and Sgt. Pete Hill ...

). Both she and

Maddie Hasson Madelaine Hasson (born January 4, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willa Monday on Fox's television series '' The Finder''. She also co-starred in the ABC Family series '' Twisted''. She starred in the YouTube Premium s ...

filled the void left by the departure of

Saffron Burrows Saffron Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is a British and American actress who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' '' Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' '' Gangster No. 1,'' '' Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' '' Reign Over Me'', and '' Th ...

, the female lead in the series'

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

which was the 19th episode of Season 6 of ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

''. She also co-starred on the ABC supernatural drama series ''

'' in 2012, which was canceled midway through its season. In the spring of 2014, Mason debuted her role of DEA Special Agent Talia Del Campo on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', appearing in seven episodes from 2014 to 2022. In August 2015, she debuted in her role as

Ofelia Salazar The following is a list of characters from ''Fear the Walking Dead'', a television series that is a companion series and prequel to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same name. Cast Main character ...

, on the '' Walking Dead'' companion series ''

''. In 2018, she played Captain Zoe Andersen in the first season of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

series '' The Rookie''.

Personal life

In 2010, Mason started dating actor

David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements'' (2000) before his breakout role as Roy Anderson on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2008; 2011–2012), which earned him a Screen Actors ...

; the couple married in 2014. Their first child was born on 10 January 2018, a son named Caius Kane. Their second child, Sagan Cyrus, was born in May 2021. Mason came out as bisexual in December 2019. Mason is a naturalized U.S. citizen, having taken the

citizenship test A citizenship test is an examination, written or oral, required to achieve citizenship in a country. It can be a follow up to fulfilling other requirements such as spending a certain amount of time in the country to qualify for applying for citize ...

in April 2016. Mason speaks English, French, Spanish, and Farsi. On the Norwegian talk show ''

Skavlan ''Skavlan'' was a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It premiered in Sweden on Sveriges Television (SVT) in January 2009, and the first guests to appear on the show were former Prime Minister ...

'' on 30 September 2016, she said that she no longer speaks Swedish but understands it.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Mercedes Living people Actresses from Illinois Actors from Linköping Actresses from Östergötland County Swedish television actresses Swedish expatriate actresses in the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States American television actresses Swedish people of Iranian descent American people of Iranian descent Year of birth missing (living people) 1980s births LGBTQ people from Illinois American bisexual actresses Bisexual actresses Swedish LGBTQ actors Swedish bisexual women