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.
Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
Law & Order
1990
Law & Order
1990
Chicago P.D.
2014
Chicago Fire
2012
The View
1997
Chicago Med
2015
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
Frasier
1993
The Good Wife
2009
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001
The Closer
2005
Filmography
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self · 2014
Law & Order
as Anita Van Buren · 1990
Law & Order
as Denise Winters · 1990
Chicago P.D.
as Sharon Goodwin · 2014
Chicago Fire
as Sharon Goodwin · 2012
The View
as Self · 1997
Chicago Med
as Sharon Goodwin · 2015
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
as Self - Guest · 1988
Frasier
as Dr. McCaskill · 1993
The Good Wife
as Judge Melanie Ellis · 2009
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
as Anita Van Buren · 2001
The Closer
as Dr. Rebecca Dioli · 2005
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
as Self · 2003
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee · 1956
The Cosby Show
as Elena · 1984
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
as Tarissa Dyson · 1991
Today
as Self · 1952
Finding Your Roots
as Self · 2012
Poker Face
as Joyce Carter · 2023
Rachael Ray
as Self · 2006
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
as Anita Van Buren · 2005
Pee-wee's Playhouse
as Reba · 1986
Jacob's Ladder
as Elsa · 1990
Radio
as Maggie · 2003
Lincoln
as Lydia Smith · 2012
Black Snake Moan
as Angela · 2006
Random Hearts
as Nea · 1999
Jersey Girl
as Doctor #1 · 2004
The Emmy Awards
as Self · 1949
Navy Seals
as Jolena · 1990
Mother and Child
as Ada · 2009
Here and Now
as Claudia St. Marth · 1992
We Grown Now
as Anita · 2024
Mann & Machine
as Capt. Margaret Claghorn · 1992
Eye for an Eye
as May · 2025
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
as Effa · 2009
She's Gotta Have It
as Doctor Jamison · 1986
The Gabby Douglas Story
as Miss Caroline · 2014
Slipstream
as Bonnie · 2007
Loose Cannons
as Rachel · 1990
A Place for Annie
as Alice · 1994
Peeples
as Daphne Peeples · 2013
Lackawanna Blues
as Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby · 2005
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
as Reba · 1988
It's Nothing Personal
as Louise Waters · 1993
Year by the Sea
as Liz · 2016
A Mother's Prayer
as Ruby · 1995
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
as Self · 2014
The Challenger
as Jada · 2015
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
as Belize · 2020
Exiled
as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren · 1998
After the SIlence
as Barbara · 1996
Barbecue
as Lillie Anne · 2020
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson") · 2006
Moe's World
· 1990
An Unexpected Life
as Beverly Hawkins · 1998
The Rising Place
as Lessie Watson · 2001
We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918
as Narrator (voice) · 2010
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
as Eslanda Robeson (voice) · 1999
Blood Sugar Rising
as Narrator (voice) · 2020
Sexual Healing
as Alberta Gay
Desmond's Not Here Anymore
as Selma · 2021
Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
as Narrator (voice) · 2008
Girl, Positive
as Ariel Winters · 2007
After All
Second Chances
as Ruth Clayton · 1992
You Can Go
as Mrs. Bryant · 2016