Acting · Saginaw, Michigan, USA · Born November 28, 1952
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.
MovieEye for an Eye
2025
as May
MovieWe Grown Now
2024
as Anita
TVPoker Face
2023
as Joyce Carter
MovieDesmond's Not Here Anymore
2021
as Selma
MovieBarbecue
2020
as Lillie Anne
MovieThe Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
2020
as Belize
MovieBlood Sugar Rising
2020
as Narrator (voice)
MovieYou Can Go
2016
as Mrs. Bryant
MovieYear by the Sea
2016
as Liz
TVChicago Med
2015
as Sharon Goodwin
MovieThe Challenger
2015
as Jada
MovieLife's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
as Self
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
as Self
MovieThe Gabby Douglas Story
2014
as Miss Caroline
TVChicago P.D.
2014
as Sharon Goodwin
MoviePeeples
2013
as Daphne Peeples
MovieLincoln
2012
as Lydia Smith
TVChicago Fire
2012
as Sharon Goodwin
TVFinding Your Roots
2012
as Self
MovieWe Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918
2010
as Narrator (voice)
MovieMother and Child
2009
as Ada
TVThe Good Wife
2009
as Judge Melanie Ellis
MovieThe Six Wives of Henry Lefay
2009
as Effa
MovieZora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
2008
as Narrator (voice)
MovieGirl, Positive
2007
as Ariel Winters
MovieSlipstream
2007
as Bonnie
MovieBlack Snake Moan
2006
as Angela
TVRachael Ray
2006
as Self
MovieThe Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
as Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson")
TVThe Closer
2005
as Dr. Rebecca Dioli
TVLaw & Order: Trial by Jury
2005
as Anita Van Buren
MovieLackawanna Blues
2005
as Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby
MovieJersey Girl
2004
as Doctor #1
MovieRadio
2003
as Maggie
TVThe Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
as Self
TVLaw & Order: Criminal Intent
2001
as Anita Van Buren
MovieThe Rising Place
2001
as Lessie Watson
MovieRandom Hearts
1999
as Nea
MoviePaul Robeson: Here I Stand
1999
as Eslanda Robeson (voice)
MovieExiled
1998
as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
MovieAn Unexpected Life
1998
as Beverly Hawkins
TVThe View
1997
as Self
MovieAfter the SIlence
1996
as Barbara
MovieA Mother's Prayer
1995
as Ruby
MovieA Place for Annie
1994
as Alice
TVFrasier
1993
as Dr. McCaskill
MovieIt's Nothing Personal
1993
as Louise Waters
TVHere and Now
1992
as Claudia St. Marth
TVMann & Machine
1992
as Capt. Margaret Claghorn
Second Chances
1992
as Ruth Clayton
MovieTerminator 2: Judgment Day
1991
as Tarissa Dyson
MovieJacob's Ladder
1990
as Elsa
TVLaw & Order
1990
as Anita Van Buren
MovieNavy Seals
1990
as Jolena
MovieMoe's World
1990
MovieLoose Cannons
1990
as Rachel
MoviePee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
1988
as Reba
TVLIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
as Self - Guest
TVPee-wee's Playhouse
1986
as Reba
MovieShe's Gotta Have It
1986
as Doctor Jamison
TVThe Cosby Show
1984
as Elena
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Nominee
TVToday
1952
as Self
TVThe Emmy Awards
1949
as Self
Sexual Healing
as Alberta Gay
After All
