Film & TV / Theatre & dance
S. Epatha Merkerson
born 1952 · actress
Law & Order's Lt. Anita Van Buren grew up in Detroit, graduated from Cooley High School and earned her theatre degree at Wayne State University.
- Born
Saginaw, Michigan
age 73- Birth name
- Sharon Epatha Merkerson
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1976
- Field
- Film & TV, Theatre & dance
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
S. Epatha Merkerson was born Sharon Epatha Merkerson in Saginaw on November 28, 1952, and raised in Detroit. She graduated from Cooley High School on the city's northwest side in 1970 and stayed in town for college, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre at Wayne State University in 1976. From Detroit she went to New York, where she built a strong stage career with Obie Awards and Tony nominations, and played Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-wee's Playhouse. Her best-known role came in 1993, when she became Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on NBC's Law & Order; she stayed for 17 seasons and 388 episodes, one of the longest runs by an actor in a TV drama. Wayne State gave her an honorary doctorate in 2009, and she later took the role of hospital chief Sharon Goodwin on Chicago Med.
Highlights
- Lt. Anita Van Buren on Law & Order (1993–2010), 388 episodes
- Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG awards for the TV film Lackawanna Blues
- Two Obie Awards and two Tony nominations
- Sharon Goodwin on Chicago Med since 2015
- Wayne State University BFA (1976) and honorary doctorate (2009)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1966–1970
Cooley High School
Closed · 1928–2010
Merkerson graduated from this northwest Detroit public high school in 1970; the school closed in 2010.
Studied here · 1970–1976
Wayne State University
She earned her BFA in theatre here in 1976 and received an honorary doctorate in 2009.