S. Epatha Merkerson

S. Epatha Merkerson is an American-born actress who is known among the public for her remarkable role in the longest-running law-enforcement series on American television, Law & Order. There she appeared as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren.

Apart from acting, she also has worked as an executive producer and director in the 2012 movie, The Contradictions of Fair Hope.

Is Merkerson Dating? Then Who?

The Gabby Douglas Story actress S. Epatha Merkerson is currently single at the moment, and she is not dating anyone. Moreover, she has not been with anyone whom we can assume to be her boyfriend.

However, she is a married woman who has lived a married life in her past.

Divorced Toussaint L. Jones

However, in the past, she was in a married relationship with Toussaint L. Jones. The ex-couple first met when Merkerson started her career as an actress in New York. Soon after, they began dating each other.

After dating each other for over a decade, they tied their knot in a wedding ceremony overheld in 1994. The former couple stayed in the married relationship for more than a decade, but sadly they ended their long marital relationship in 2006.

Net Worth - Why Merkerson Is So Rich?

S. Epatha Merkerson has a huge net worth of $11 million, similar to Ashlee Simpson. In 2008, she appeared in a TV commercial for Uniball pens.

Similarly, she has also done TV commercial ads for Coricidin HBP cold medicine (2007-2009 & 2011-2012) (HBP indicates it is OK for use by those with high blood pressure).

Merkerson is one of the famous actors in the TV series industry, and she is paid very well for her acting vocation. She has appeared in more than sixty movies and TV series in the lead and supporting roles.

Physical Appearance

Regarding S. Epatha Merkerson's physical appearance, she has a height of 5 feet 6 inches (167 cm), whereas her weight is estimated at around 65 kg.

Despite being an old personality, she still looks very young; apart from that, she has a brown eye color, whereas her hair color is black. Furthermore, her body size is 42 inches.

Merkerson Faced Racism

You may not know about this fact but the Merkerson family has to face racism after moving to an all-white neighborhood. She had a very uneasy experience there.

In an interview with People Weekly Magazine, she stated that she was pointed a gun by a police officer. At the same time, his partner inspected her brother, suspected of driving a similar car.

Parents Details

Year by the Sea actress Merkerson was born to her mother, Ann Merkerson; however, details regarding her father are still a mystery.

Moving on, her mother used to work as a postal worker in the post office of Detroit, Michigan. Her mother raised Epatha and her other four siblings, brother and sister, alone.

How Merkerson Spent Her Childhood?

Merkerson was born to her parents on November 28, 1952, in Saginaw, Michigan, the United States. However, her early life did not go well because she faced racism at an early age.

At the early age of thirteen, her family shifted to an all-white neighborhood. At that time, racism was common, and her family faced it too.

That is how she grew up and she always opposes racism because she exactly knows how worst is this thing.

Has Four Siblings

As mentioned above, Merkerson is blessed with four siblings brother and a sister.

She has three brothers, Debbie Merkerson-Gooch, Barrie Merkerson and Zephry Merkerson and one sister, Linda Merkerson. 

Opposes People To Quit Smoking

The Good Wife actress Merkerson used to smoke a cigarette in the past. However, she quit smoking after losing one of her best friends due to lung cancer. One year later, she lost another friend due to the same disease.

After both tragic incidents, Merkerson decided to make people aware of the danger of smoking. She took the help of small kids to spread awareness among the public. 

In an interview with Los Angeles Daily News, she stated:

I've realized that celebrities can be used for really important things. People seem to listen a little more acutely to those who are in front of the camera. If you're going to hear it from me because I'm Lt. Van Buren, then that's really cool.

Furthermore, she has actively participated in Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids and worked for social institutions like Cancercare.

Roasted Donald Trump - Why?

In 2018, Merkerson was one of the haters of the Republican Party and Donald Trump. She shared many posts on Instagram roasting Trump.

It seems that she did not like the management and agenda of the Donald Trump party.

Career Overview

After completing her bachelor's degree, Merkerson moved to New York to pursue her career in acting. At first, she worked for the children's theater company. After working there for a while, her talent was liked by many people. 

In 1986, she got her first role in the movie as Doctor Jamison in a comedy and romance movie; She's Gotta Have It. Following it, she again appeared in The Cosby Show TV series as Elena for 1 episode.

In 1991, she appeared in Law & Order as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, which became one of her popular roles. Continuing with the series, she appeared in 391 episodes for the past 17 years. 

Currently, she is working with the team on the upcoming biography, drama and music movie Sexual Healing where she will appear as Alberty Gay.

IMDb Profile

As you might know, every actor and actress has an IMDb page, and so does Merkerson. She has an IMDb page where she has over sixty credits as an actress, one credit as a director, one credit as a producer, four soundtrack credits and sixty other credits.

Moreover, her IMDb page contains her short biography, photos & video, awards & nominations and other personal details.

Asked People To Get Vaccinated

Did you know? Merkerson requested her fans and followers to get vaccinated, and she asked people to their distance themselves from people during the pandemic.

Apart from that, she also asked her fans to vote in the election.

Education Qualification

Best Actress - Television award winner Merkerson completed her early and high school education at Cooley High School in 1970, located in her hometown.

After that, she went to Wayne State University to continue her studies. In 1975, she completed her bachelor's degree in fine arts with excellent grades.

Social Media Presence

S. Epatha Merkerson goes by the @merk2577 username on her official Instagram handle, where she has achieved more than 61k fan following. 

She is also available on Twitter with the @s_epatha username with over 30k followers. She has been active on Twitter since joining the site in January 2012.

Apart from her Instagram and Twitter handles, she also has a good fan following on her official Facebook page, @S. Epatha Merkerson. According to her Facebook page, she loves quilting and reading books.

Get to know more interesting biographies of celebrities in MarriedCeleb.