S. Epatha Merkerson

Actress

November 28, 1952 (73 years)

Saginaw, Michigan, USA

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 mem…

Filmography

7.3

Law & Order

Anita Van Buren

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

8.4

Chicago Fire

Sharon Goodwin

An edge-of-your-seat view into the lives of everyday heroes committed to one of America's noblest professions. For the firefighters, rescue squad and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51, no occupation is more stressful or dangerous, yet so rewarding and exhilarating. These courageous men and women are among the elite who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way and whose actions make the difference between life and death.

5.8

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Self

After Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent replacement. After 42 years in Los Angeles the program was brought back to New York.

8.4

Chicago P.D.

Sharon Goodwin

A riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department's District 21 who put it all on the line to serve and protect their community. District 21 is made up of two distinctly different groups: the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head-to-head with the city's street crimes and the Intelligence Unit that combats the city's major offenses - organized crime, drug trafficking, high profile murders and beyond.

7.6

The Good Wife

Judge Melanie Ellis

Alicia Florrick boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.

7.6

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Anita Van Buren

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.

8.3

Chicago Med

Sharon Goodwin

An emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city's most explosive hospital and the courageous team of doctors who hold it together. They will tackle unique new cases inspired by topical events, forging fiery relationships in the pulse-pounding pandemonium of the emergency room.

7.7

Frasier

Dr. McCaskill

After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a radio psychiatrist after his policeman father gets shot in the hip on duty.

7.8

The Closer

Dr. Rebecca Dioli

Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson transfers from Atlanta to LA to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Johnson's quirky personality and hard-nosed approach often rubs her colleagues the wrong way, but her reputation as one of the world's best interrogator eventually wins over even her toughest critics.

4.4

The View

Self

ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro discussing the most exciting events of the day. Hot topics in the news, the best experts in their field, celebrity interviews and general entertainment are all part of The View.

7.0

The Cosby Show

Elena

The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.

N/A

Tony Awards

Self - Nominee

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

5.6

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

Self - Guest

A morning talk show with A-list celebrity guests, top-notch performances and one-of-a-kind segments that are unrivaled on daytime television, plus spontaneous, hilarious and unpredictable talk.

5.5

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Self

The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to just Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres.

7.5

Poker Face

Joyce Carter

Follow Charlie Cale, a woman with an extraordinary ability to tell when someone is lying, as she hits the road and, at every stop, encounters a new cast of characters and crimes she can't help but solve.

8.2

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Tarissa Dyson

Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.

6.4

Finding Your Roots

Self

Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.

8.1

Law & Order: Trial by Jury

Anita Van Buren

The inner workings of the judicial system, beginning with the arraignment, and continuing through the prosecutors' complicated process of building a case, investigating leads and preparing witnesses for trial.

5.7

Today

Self

Today is a daily American morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and is the fifth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007. Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when it was beaten by Good Morning America yet again. In 2002, Today was ranked #17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time.

7.2

Pee-wee's Playhouse

Reba

Join Pee-Wee Herman and his friends Chairry, Miss Yvonne, Cowboy Curtis, Jambi the Genie and others as they play around in Pee-Wee's magical Playhouse!