S. Epatha Merkerson

Born: 1952-11-28

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.


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as Tarissa Dyson
Released: 1991-07-03

Set ten years after the events of the original, James Cameron’s classic sci-fi action flick...

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as Lydia Smith
Released: 2012-11-09

The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation...

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Radio

as Maggie
Released: 2003-10-24

In the racially divided town of Anderson, South Carolina in 1976, football coach Harold Jones...

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Jacob's Ladder

as Elsa
Released: 1990-11-02

After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his...

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We Grown Now

as Anita
Released: 2024-04-19

In 1992 Chicago, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and...

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Navy Seals

as Jolena
Released: 1990-07-20

During a rescue mission, a team of Navy Seals discover that a terrorist group have access to...

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Black Snake Moan

as Angela
Released: 2006-12-31

A God-fearing bluesman takes to a wild young woman who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse,...

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as Doctor #1
Released: 2004-03-25

Ollie Trinke is a young, suave music publicist who seems to have it all, with a new wife and a...

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She's Gotta Have It

as Doctor Jamison
Released: 1986-08-08

The story of Nola Darling's simultaneous sexual relationships with three different men is told...

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Loose Cannons

as Rachel
Released: 1990-02-09

Mac, the two-fisted, savvy cop finds that he's being saddled with a new partner, a known...

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Random Hearts

as Nea
Released: 1999-10-08

After losing their spouses in a plane crash, an internal affairs cop and a congresswoman find...

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The Gabby Douglas Story

as Miss Caroline
Released: 2014-02-01

The true story of Gabby Douglas who becomes the first African American to be named Individual...

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Mother and Child

as Ada
Released: 2009-11-07

The lives of three women have a commonality: adoption. Karen is a physical therapist who regrets...

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The Six Wives of Henry Lefay

as Effa
Released: 2009-06-18

A presumed-dead man's current wife and former wives squabble over his funeral arrangements.

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Slipstream

as Bonnie
Released: 2007-02-10

Aging screenwriter Felix Bonhoeffer has lived his life in two states of existence: in reality...

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Peeples

as Daphne Peeples
Released: 2013-05-09

The story follows what happens when a child psychologist surprises his girlfriend by showing up...

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The Challenger

as Jada
Released: 2015-09-11

A legendary trainer comes out of retirement to help an underdog boxer fight his way to a better...

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A Place for Annie

as Alice
Released: 1994-05-01

Baby Annie is HIV positive and has been left in the clinic by her drug addicted mother. To...

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Year by the Sea

as Liz
Released: 2016-04-16

Hoping to reclaim who she was before marriage and children, an empty nester retreats to Cape Cod...

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Exiled

as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
Released: 1998-11-08

NYPD Detective Mike Logan, who was reassigned to Staten Island after punching a corrupt...

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Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special

as Reba
Released: 1988-12-21

Pee-wee Herman and pals are celebrating Christmas in the Playhouse in their own creative ways:...

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After the Silence

as Barbara
Released: 1996-12-30

Laura is a 20 year old deaf girl who has never been taught sign language. She is rescued from...

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Lackawanna Blues

as Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby
Released: 2005-02-12

In a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of a...

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A Mother's Prayer

as Ruby
Released: 1995-05-25

Rosemary Holmstrom is struggling to bring up her son following the death of her husband. When...

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The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America

as Belize
Released: 2020-10-08

An all-star livestream benefit performance of scenes from Angels in America in support of...

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An Unexpected Life

as Beverly Hawkins
Released: 1998-06-24

Sequel to "An Unexpected Family."

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The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays

as Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson")
Released: 2006-05-02

The Great White Way comes into your living room via this disc of rare performances from some of...

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Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee

as Self
Released: 2014-06-22

In this open-letter style documentary, Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis' rich lives guide their grandson...

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It's Nothing Personal

as Louise Waters
Released: 1993-02-01

An embittered ex-cop, on a quest for justice, teams up with a hard-boiled bounty hunter to go...

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Girl, Positive

as Ariel Winters
Released: 2007-06-25

A popular high school girl finds out that a boy she slept with is HIV positive.

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We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918

as Narrator (voice)
Released: 2010-01-15

We meet individuals from marginalized communities who describe what it was like to live through...

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Blood Sugar Rising

as Narrator (voice)
Released: 2020-04-15

Blood Sugar Rising follows the diabetes epidemic in the U.S. Diabetes and pre-diabetes affect...

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Moe's World

as uncredited
Released: 1990-07-14

The spirit of a deceased 11-year-old boy acts as the guardian of his family and friends in the...

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Desmond's Not Here Anymore

as Selma
Released: 2021-09-23

Abigail battles moving her elderly mother with dementia out from the family home. When her...

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Barbecue

as Lillie Anne
Released: 2020-12-10

The O’Mallerys have gathered in their local park to share some barbecue and rousing straight...

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Paul Robeson: Here I Stand

as Eslanda Robeson (voice)
Released: 1999-02-24

Paul Robeson: Here I Stand presents the life and achievements of an extraordinary man. Athlete,...

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You Can Go

as Mrs. Bryant
Released: 2016-09-29

A school administrator talks down a troubled student.

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Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun

as Narrator (voice)
Released: 2008-08-16

Zora Neale Hurston, path-breaking novelist, pioneering anthropologist and one of the first black...

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Law & Order

as Anita Van Buren
First aired: 1990-09-13

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing...

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Law & Order

as Denise Winters
First aired: 1990-09-13

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing...

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The Good Wife

as Judge Melanie Ellis
First aired: 2009-09-22

Alicia Florrick boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce...

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Chicago P.D.

as Sharon Goodwin
First aired: 2014-01-08

A riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department's District 21...

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Chicago Fire

as Sharon Goodwin
First aired: 2012-10-10

An edge-of-your-seat view into the lives of everyday heroes committed to one of America's...

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The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

as Self
First aired: 2014-02-17

After Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent...

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The Closer

as Dr. Rebecca Dioli
First aired: 2005-06-13

Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson transfers from Atlanta to LA to head up a special unit...

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Chicago Med

as Sharon Goodwin
First aired: 2015-11-17

An emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city's most explosive hospital and...

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Frasier

as Dr. McCaskill
First aired: 1993-09-16

After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a...

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The View

as Self
First aired: 1997-08-11

ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin,...

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Law & Order: Criminal Intent

as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
First aired: 2001-09-30

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its...

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Tony Awards

as Self - Nominee
First aired: 1956-04-01

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award,...

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The Cosby Show

as Elena
First aired: 1984-09-20

The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for...

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Poker Face

as Joyce Carter
First aired: 2023-01-26

Follow Charlie Cale, a woman with an extraordinary ability to tell when someone is lying, as she...

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LIVE with Kelly and Mark

as Self - Guest
First aired: 1988-09-05

A morning talk show with A-list celebrity guests, top-notch performances and one-of-a-kind...

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Finding Your Roots

as Self
First aired: 2012-03-24

Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost...

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The Ellen DeGeneres Show

as Self
First aired: 2003-09-08

The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to just Ellen, is an American television talk show...

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Law & Order: Trial by Jury

as Anita Van Buren
First aired: 2005-03-03

The inner workings of the judicial system, beginning with the arraignment, and continuing...

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Rachael Ray

as Self
First aired: 2006-09-18

Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is an American talk show starring Rachael Ray...

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Pee-wee's Playhouse

as Reba
First aired: 1986-09-13

Pee-wee's Playhouse is an American children's television program starring Paul Reubens as the...

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Today

as Self
First aired: 1952-01-14

Today is a daily American morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on...

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Mann & Machine

as Capt. Margaret Claghorn
First aired: 1992-04-05

Mann & Machine is an American science fiction/police drama series that aired for nine episodes...

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Here and Now

as Claudia St. Marth
First aired: 1992-09-19

Here and Now is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1992 to...

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