S Epatha Merkerson - hannah montana

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NAME:	S Epatha Merkerson
PROFILE:	Name: S Epatha Merkerson Birth Name: Sharon Epatha Merkerson Height: 5' 6" Sex: F Nationality: American Birth Date: November 28, 1952 Birth Place: Saginaw, Michigan, USA Profession: Actress Education: Cooley High School, Detroit, Michigan (graduated in 1970) Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan (graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1978) Husband/Wife: Toussaint L. Jones Jr. (married in March 1994; divorced on February 14, 2006) Claim to fame: As Jerry Orbach's no-nonsense supervisor, Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the long-running TV Series drama Law & Order (1991-2007). Contact: Click here
GOSSIP:	In April 2006, co-star Jesse L. Martin presented Merkerson with the Entertainer of the Year Award at the SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis Universty. Is often reticent about revealing what her first name really is -- Sharon. On the June 11, 2005 episode of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, she jokingly claimed that the initial S, stands for 'Sweet' [because] so many people have difficulty with Epatha, which is what I prefer to be called. Along with Jerry Orbach and Annie Parisse, one of only 3 Law & Order (1990) cast members to play a different character in an episode before joining the cast in a later season. (Michael Imperioli also played multiple roles, but was not a permanent addition to the cast as Det. Falco.) Before studying Acting, she majored in Dance at Wayne State University. Has been nominated twice for the Helen Hayes Award: Outstanding Lead Actress-Resident Play, The Old Settler (1999) Her favorite Law & Order (1990) episode is the first season show Mushrooms, in which she plays Denise Winters, a woman whose son is mistakenly killed by a boy who, unable to read, fires shots into the wrong apartment. Her Law & Order (1990) character, Lt. Anita Van Buren, whom she has played since 1993, is the longest running African American character in an American television drama. Her parents are originally from the South, and came to Michigan (Merkerson's birthplace) in search of work. Her sister is a lung-cancer survivor. In 2002, she received the Regulus Award from the Cancer Care organization for her dedication to lung-cancer awareness and education. The award was presented by her Law & Order (1990) co-star, Jesse L. Martin. Is an outspoken advocate against smoking and for lung cancer research and awareness. On a June 11, 2005, episode of the NPR show Wait wait... Don't tell me! she claimed that her first name was not Sharon, but rather was Sweet. This may well have been a jest, but she repeatedly stuck with it. Owes much of her success to casting director Meg Simon. Sears a wig on Law & Order (1990) to cover up her corn braids, which have since been cut off and replaced by short-length hair. MORE S EPATHA MERKERSON TRIVIA
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