Cast & creator
Mercedes Ruehl
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order
Mercedes J. Ruehl is an American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, two Obie Awards, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards. Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance in the film earned her the 1991 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an American Comedy Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Ruehl is known for her leading performance in the play Lost in Yonkers (1990) and supporting performance in the film The Fisher King (1991). Her other film credits include Big (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), Last Action Hero (1993), Roseanna's Grave (1997), and Hustlers (2019). She also played the mother of main character Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.
50
film credits
23
television credits
73
1951–2023 · acting roles
6.6
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (73)
Showing 73 of 73 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Lucia Barba
1999
Law & Order
Zina Rybakov
1990Law & Order
Clara Lloyd
1990
NCIS
Marie Quinn
2003
Frasier
Kate Costas
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993
2 Broke Girls
Olga
2011
Psych
Detective Goochberg
2006
Entourage
Rita Chase
2004
The Cosby Show
Bernadette Foley
1984
Bull
Judge Tessa Hudson
2016Bull
Judge Hudson
2016
New Amsterdam
Grace
2018
Life in Pieces
Mia
2015
ABC Afterschool Special
Sandy
1972
The Oscars
Self
1953
Kate & Allie
1984
The Mysteries of Laura
Val Santiani
2014
Accused
Connie
2023
Last Action Hero
Irene Madigan
1993
The Warriors
Policewoman
1979
Monday Mornings
Judge Beverly Natheson
2013
Big
Mrs. Baskin
1988
The Fisher King
Anne
1991
Married to the Mob
Connie Russo
1988
Hustlers
Mother
2019
The Secret of My Success
Sheila
1987
Gia
Kathleen Carangi
1998
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Rebecca
1951
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Party Guest (uncredited)
1989
Heartburn
Eve
1986
84 Charing Cross Road
Kay
1987
Radio Days
Ad Man
1987
Widows
Dolly Rawlins
2002
Another You
Elaine
1991
The Minus Man
Jane
1999
Crazy People
Dr. Liz Baylor
1990
Indictment: The McMartin Trial
Lael Rubin
1995
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
American girl in casino
1976
Subway Stories
Leyla (segment "Underground")
1997
Roseanna's Grave
Roseanna
1997
Slaves of New York
Samantha
1989
What's Cooking?
Elizabeth Avila
2000
Disclosure
Self (archive footage)
2020
Four Friends
Woman in Taxi
1981
Loving Leah
Janice
2009
More Dogs Than Bones
Victoria 'Vic' Galletti
2000
Bad Apple
Lorraine Gibbons
2004
All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story
Jane Newhall
2000
Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
Self
2015
Leader of the Band
Miss Cooper
1987
Out of the Cold
Tina
1999
A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story
Sylvia Guerrero
2006
Spooky House
Boss
2002
Mom's on Strike
Sandy
1984
The Nana Project
Nana
2023
Mom at Sixteen
Terry Jeffries
2005Doubt
Mrs. Syd Newman
2013
Chu and Blossom
Mrs. Fefterg
2014
North Shore Fish
Florence
1997
Zeyda and the Hitman
Esther
2004Robin Williams: Behind Closed Doors
Self
2016
Doctors of the Dark Side
Narrator
2011
Lost in Yonkers
Bella Kurnitz
1993
The Lost Child
Rebecca
2000
Guilt by Association
Susan Walker
2002
Star Spangled Banners
Rosalind Banner
2013
Goldstar, Ohio
Adriana Rock
2010People Not Places
The Amati Girls
Grace
2001
Twisted
Cybelle
1985