Cast & creator
S. Epatha Merkerson
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Law & Order, Law & Order
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.
Also known as: Epatha Merkerson
44
film credits
24
television credits
67
1949–2025 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (68)
Showing 68 of 68 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self
2014
Law & Order
Anita Van Buren
1990Law & Order
Denise Winters
1990
The View
Self
1997
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Anita Van Buren
2001
Chicago P.D.
Sharon Goodwin
2014
Chicago Fire
Sharon Goodwin
2012
Chicago Med
Sharon Goodwin
2015
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest
1988
Frasier
Dr. McCaskill
1993
The Good Wife
Judge Melanie Ellis
2009
The Closer
Dr. Rebecca Dioli
2005
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee
1956
The Cosby Show
Elena
1984
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Tarissa Dyson
1991
Finding Your Roots
Self
2012
Today
Self
1952
Poker Face
Joyce Carter
2023
Rachael Ray
Self
2006
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Anita Van Buren
2005
Pee-wee's Playhouse
Reba
1986
Jacob's Ladder
Elsa
1990
Radio
Maggie
2003
Lincoln
Lydia Smith
2012
The Emmy Awards
Self
1949
Random Hearts
Nea
1999
Jersey Girl
Doctor #1
2004
Black Snake Moan
Angela
2006
Here and Now
Claudia St. Marth
1992
Mother and Child
Ada
2009
Eye for an Eye
May
2025
Navy Seals
Jolena
1990
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
Effa
2009
Mann & Machine
Capt. Margaret Claghorn
1992
We Grown Now
Anita
2024
Loose Cannons
Rachel
1990
She's Gotta Have It
Doctor Jamison
1986
The Gabby Douglas Story
Miss Caroline
2014
Slipstream
Bonnie
2007
Lackawanna Blues
Rachel 'Nanny' Crosby
2005
A Place for Annie
Alice
1994
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
Reba
1988
Peeples
Daphne Peeples
2013
After the SIlence
Barbara
1996
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
Berniece (segment "The Piano Lesson")
2006
A Mother's Prayer
Ruby
1995
It's Nothing Personal
Louise Waters
1993
Year by the Sea
Liz
2016
The Challenger
Jada
2015
Barbecue
Lillie Anne
2020
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
2014
Exiled
Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
1998
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Eslanda Robeson (voice)
1999
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
Belize
2020
Moe's World
1990
An Unexpected Life
Beverly Hawkins
1998
The Rising Place
Lessie Watson
2001Sexual Healing
Alberta Gay
The Contradictions of Fair Hope
Director
2013
We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918
Narrator (voice)
2010
Girl, Positive
Ariel Winters
2007Second Chances
Ruth Clayton
1992
Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun
Narrator (voice)
2008
Blood Sugar Rising
Narrator (voice)
2020
Desmond's Not Here Anymore
Selma
2021
You Can Go
Mrs. Bryant
2016