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, Lac...
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991
Eye for an Eye
2025
After the SIlence
1996
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay
2009
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
Loose Cannons
1990
You Can Go
2016
Lincoln
2012
Random Hearts
1999
Jersey Girl
2004
Jacob's Ladder
1990
Radio
2003
She's Gotta Have It
1986
Navy Seals
1990
Lackawanna Blues
2005
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
2020
Black Snake Moan
2006
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
1999
Slipstream
2007
Year by the Sea
2016
The Rising Place
2001
Peeples
2013
An Unexpected Life
1998
We Grown Now
2024
Barbecue
2020
A Place for Annie
1994
Mother and Child
2009
Exiled
1998
The Gabby Douglas Story
2014
It's Nothing Personal
1993
The Challenger
2015
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
1988
Moe's World
1990
A Mother's Prayer
1995
We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918
2010
Desmond's Not Here Anymore
2021