S. Epatha Merkerson

Age: 57
Height: 5' 6"

Birth Place: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Born: Nov. 28th, 1952

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S. Epatha Merkerson's Main TV Roles

Show	Character(s)
Law & Order	Lt. Anita V…
The Closer	Dr. Rebecca…
Mann & Machine	Capt. Marga…
Here and Now	Ms. St. Marth
Life & Style	S. Epatha M…
South Beach (1993)	Madam Bouch…

NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at IMDB

BIOGRAPHY:

A native of Michigan, S. Epatha Merkerson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Wayne State University. In 1978, she moved to New York City to apply her craft on stage. Although best known since 1993 as the smart and shrewd Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the long-running TV crime drama "Law & Order" (1990), she has a long list of Broadway and off-Broadway credits and honors that include Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominations for Best Actress for her performance in the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson (1995) (TV), a 1992 Obie Award for her performance in "I'm Not Stupid," and a 1998 Helen Hayes Award for her starring role in the Studio Theater production in Washington, DC, of the John Henry Redwood play "The Old Settler." Her first appearance on television was a guest-starring role on an episode of "The Cosby Show" (1984). Her earliest regular role in television, however, was that of Reba the Mail Woman on "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (1986). Merkerson remains a theatrical force on the stage and on the screen and has the distinction of having been nominated for an Image Award in the Outstanding-Lead-Actress-in-a-Drama category for "Law & Order" (1990) for three consecutive years by the NAACP.

TRIVIA:

Won her second Village Voice Obie Award in 2006 for her work in "Birdie Blue."
Her _"Law & Order" (1990)_ (qv) character, Lt. Anita Van Buren, whom she has played since 1993, is the longest running African American character in an American television drama.
Her favorite _"Law & Order" (1990)_ (qv) episode is the first season show "Mushrooms," in which she plays Denise Winters, a woman whose son is mistakenly killed by a boy who, unable to read, fires shots into the wrong apartment.
Nominated for the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her performance in "Come Back, Little Sheba".
Nominated for the 2008 NAACP Theatre Award (Best Lead Female) for her performance as Lola in a revival of "Come Back, Little Sheba." The other three nominees, 'Jeannette Bayardelle' (qv), 'Felicia Fields' (qv) and 'Michelle Williams (I)' (qv), were all nominated for the work in "The Color Purple".
Smoked for twenty years before quitting.
Is the youngest of five children.
On a June 11, 2005, episode of the NPR show "Wait wait... Don't tell me!" she claimed that her first name was not Sharon, but rather was "Sweet." This may well have been a jest, but she repeatedly stuck with it.