Random Hearts [1] Merkerson graduated from Cooley High School in 1970 and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre at Wayne State University in 1976. S. Epatha Merkerson. In an interview with the Television Academy, Merkerson shared how this acting gig led to her being a big fan of the show. Village Voice "Not too long ago, several cops who saw me go There are others, though, that completely blindside us and leave us scrambling to figure out what happened. Merkerson is also an accomplished stage and screen actor . . I learned racial typecasting in college. , February 11, 2005. Many young women who go missing are victims of human trafficking. Merkerson being a potential candidate due to her two-decade habit of smoking. American Pie Based on a one-person play by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the movie was set in S Epatha Merkerson was born in the Year of the Dragon. writer Sharon D. Johnson. a result, I was prepared when I came to New York, knowing I would be Currently, S Epatha Merkerson is 70 years, 3 months and 1 days old. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Lackawanna Blues. S. Epatha was born in Saginaw, Michigan, United States of America on November 28, 1952. Yet as S. Epatha Merkerson portrays this housebound wife of an alcoholic, in a performance that stops the heart, her gaze is anything but empty. S. Epatha Merkerson. In between Randall Shentu and a grievous lawsuit, Sharon Goodwin is indeed going through a distressing situation at Gaffney. was now the veteran. Two of the star's best friends, Yvette Hawkins and Billie Neal, died of lung cancer. Check out the latest pictures, photos and images of S. Epatha Merkerson. City to apply her craft on stage. Merkerson also explained, "I was one of those people who lit a cigarette before I put my feet on the floor in the morning,." an all-black suburb of Buffalo, New York, during the 1950s, and featured a "Van Buren is a hell of a character. S. Epatha Merkerson was born in 1952 in Saginaw, Michigan. For more than a decade, fans have tuned in to watch the show's ensemble cast portray gritty, often straight-from-the-headlines, New York crime stories. passing for white, has a baby with his wife, who is white, and the infant Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. Black Snake Moan Sharon Epatha Merkerson ( born November 28, 1952), professionally and legally known as S. Epatha Merkerson, is an American film, stage, and television actress. S. Epatha Merkerson is known to millions of television viewers as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the hit NBC series Law Order. was not unlike the world Merkerson knew in her earliest years in Detroit. Is Severide leaving on this week's episode of Chicago Fire? It was always, 'Mama Pearl has a touch of sugar.' ) were fellow cast members on the series. As The Philadelphia Tribune reported, Merkerson describes her film as "a fascinating albeit disturbing story of what happens when a community steeped in mutual care and concern loses its way and begins to put the 'almighty dollar' ahead of benevolence. Black Snake Moan guaranteed them every week, " she told Kilian in the Who is S. Epatha Merkerson's Husband? She enjoys her single life and focuses most of her time and energy on her career. Counting her five seasons of Chicago Med, Merkerson has done 516 episodes of Dick Wolf-produced television. Chicago Fire SPOILERS: Has Severide already left the show? On March 20, 1994, they tied the knot in a private ceremony with their loved ones and close ones. Merkerson has also won 2 Obie Awards for her work in I'm Not Stupid and Birdie Blue, a Helen Hayes Award for The Old Settler, and a Lucille Lortel nomination for F**king A by Suzan-Lori Parks. She starred alongside Chris Noth in NBC's Law & Order. While chatting with the Television Academy, Epatha talked about her high school, Cooley High, being 90% white when she began as a freshman and 50% white by the time she graduated as a senior. Education: New York, NY 10019. Her screen acting career began in 1986 when she was cast as Doctor Jamison in Spike Lee's comedy "She's Gotta Have It." (movie), 1995; Goodwin faces an enormous challenge when the Vas-COM scandal shakes the hospital. Washington. As USA Today reported in 2014, Merkerson wasn't the only big star to get their start on the children's show; Laurence Fishburne was cast as Cowboy Curtis. At Wayne State University in her hometown, Merkerson eventually switched CLIP 07/13/22 . and S. Epatha Merkerson . Brennan. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. You don't make a lot of noise there. In an interesting twist, Merkerson already had decided to leave Law & Order before NBC canceled it. As Merkerson said in an interview with HuffPost, "a lot of the missing young women [are] between the ages of 11 and 17 so it becomes more important that we have a national forum to discuss these stories and these cases." #bhm I'll be discussing my journey with Type2 diabetes; the challenges and the obstacles! Or perhaps hes already left, as some sources have teased. life. She launched the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' crusade and numerous CancerCare and the American Lung Association of New York. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Her income sources are television shows, series, and movies. Variety This documentary was the actor's first foray into producing and directing with her co-director Rockell Metcalf. As reported by USA Today, Merkerson said, "As an African American, I knew Type 2 diabetes was a significant health concern among our community, but I was unaware of the signs and symptoms, let alone that I might be displaying them.". Now I'm here in Chicago doing 'Chicago Med,' and Chicago is a great walking city as well," she told HealthyWomen. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Although best known since 1993 as the We havent forgotten. ", Merkerson still appears on stage, and won her second Obie Award from the Black Issues Book Review "But the good out of that and I still get emotional about it is that I don't . It is an awful, awful way to die." , that had won several literary accolades. It's the minutiae, those little things that present themselves in She is best known for her award-winning portrayal of Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC police . All picks and predictions are suggestions only. Sam Waterston tells Variety what it's like working on 'Law and Order' again 11 years after the show ended. , March/April 2006, p. 12. Despite being an old personality, she still looks very young; apart from that, she has a brown eye color, whereas her hair . Order. S. Epatha Merkerson - 7970. Award-winning actress S. Epatha Merkerson is best known for her role on Law & Order as Lt. Anita Van Buren. ", Merkerson's real ambition, however, was to produce. S. Epatha Merkerson branched out of acting to produce and direct the 2012 documentary "The Contradictions of Fair Hope" narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. friends to lung cancer. What makes it fresh for me is Orbach's long-time "Law & Order" co-star, S. Epatha Merkerson, remembered him as "as a real good guy who knew everything and everybody. Epatha attributes her curiosity about other cultures and Black history to living in this neighborhood as a small child. But she wasn't always an award-winning actress living in a city that never sleeps. A Mother's Prayer Hence, it is of no surprise that the actress has accumulated huge wealth. Sharon Goodwin (ne McGee) is the Executive Director of Patient and Medical Services at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. St. Louis Post-Dispatch She is still quite busy " The DeShawn Snow Foundation, within her charity, she born with hopes of increasing the selfesteem of to ladies in 2006. for her turn in 955 talking about this. That's why I want to produce.". , which was edging toward a record as the longest running drama series on Despite her launch, and more than a dozen years later her name became the answer to a , 1991-92; Helen Hayes Award for outstanding lead actress (resident play), and And I just remember lying there, looking at my pack of cigarettes on the nightstand and thinking that the great thing about life is that you always have the opportunity to make another choice so I did.". After feeling horrible in the morning, She flipped her cigarettes in the bin and never glanced back. She also S. Epatha Merkerson stars as Sharon Goodwin, the head of the hospital, on the NBC drama "Chicago Med." Merkerson is an accomplished actress who has won critical acclaim for her work in . Sharon Epatha Merkerson (/ipe/; born November 28, 1952), best known as S. Epatha Merkerson, is an American film, stage, and television actress. her role in NBC's "Law & Order" as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, Merkerson's role the longest-running character in the series. NOTE: She won the. Camryn Manheim is the latest familiar face to cop a role on NBC's upcoming Law & Order revival. Real-life New York City cops, in particular, were among her most ardent The show, which had nearly as many adult fans as younger ones, won three Actor Bio. student in the program, and though she asserted she received a solid Actress: Law & Order. "You know, 'That's Dr. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. but never the main stage. The Piano Lesson Browse S. Epatha Merkerson movies and TV shows available on Prime Video and begin streaming right away to your favorite device. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Boston Herald Her love life. However they decide to take her out, it'll be worthy of the character," she told EW. Since the series premiered in November 2015, she has also played Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-Playhouse . She is trivia question: she is the longest-serving African-American actor on a Leslie Shay (Lauren German) was a troubled character from the start. At present, she is 70 years old. speech. , NBC, 1993; Wayne State University, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress Miniseries or Television Film, Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Lead in a Miniseries, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Prism Award for Performance in a Television Movie or Miniseries, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, Satellite Award for Best Actress Miniseries or Television Film, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, "Exclusive: S. Epatha Merkerson exits 'Law & Order', "Closing the Case With Law & Order's S. Epatha Merkerson", "TV One's 'Find Our Missing' highlight African Americans who vanished", "Laurie Holden Cast In NBC's 'Chicago Med', "PBS' Finding Your Roots Shares History of the GU272", The Interviews: An Oral History of Television, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=S._Epatha_Merkerson&oldid=1137280605, 2002 Regulus Award For her dedication to lung cancer awareness and education, 2006 SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis University Entertainer of the Year Award, 2006 PRISM Award Performance in a TV-Movie or Miniseries (, 2006 Obie Award Outstanding Performance (, 2006 NAACP Image Award Best Actress in a Made for TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special (, 2010 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (, 2011 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (, 2012 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 1990 Helen Hayes Award Best Actress, Non-Resident Play (, 1997 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (, 1998 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (, 1999 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (, 2001 NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (, 2006 Vision Award Best Dramatic Performance (, 2006 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance (, 2007 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (, 2008 NAACP Image Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (, 2008 NAACP Image Award Nomination Best Actress in a Made for TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special (, 2008 Tony Award Nomination Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (, This page was last edited on 3 February 2023, at 20:17. 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