S. Epatha Merkerson

About

S. Epatha Merkerson (born Sharon Epatha Merkerson; November 28, 1952) is an American actress. She has received accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four NAACP Image Awards, two Obie Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. She is known for her portrayal of NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order, a role she played from 1993 to 2010, appearing in 388 episodes of the series. She is also known for playing Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-wee’s Playhouse and Sharon Goodwin in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med since the series premiered in November 2015.

Merkerson was born Sharon Epatha Merkerson in Saginaw, Michigan, and raised in Detroit. She is the youngest of five children raised by her mother Ann who worked for the post office.
During a segment on the January 31, 2012, episode of The Wendy Williams Show, when asked about the origin of her name, Merkerson said that “Epatha” was the name of “a grade-school teacher who was influential in keeping her father in school”. Merkerson graduated from Cooley High School in 1970 and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre at…