Background and Early Life

Merkerson was born in the city of Saginaw in the state of Michigan. Her parents divorced when she was five years old. She was the youngest of five children raised by their mother, who worked for the USPS. Merkerson grew raised in a primarily Euro-American Detroit area, according to her. When asked about the origin of her name during a segment on The Wendy Williams Show on January 31, 2012, Merkerson said that "Epatha" was the name of "a grade-school teacher who was instrumental in keeping [her father] in school."

She went on to say that she likes to be referred to as "Epatha" rather than "S. Epatha." In 1970, Merkerson graduated from Cooley High School. She started as a dance major at Eastern Michigan University but then switched to Indiana University Bloomington. In 1976, she graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre. In May 2009, Wayne State University awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. She earned the same honor from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 2012, Montclair State University in 2013, and the University of Pittsburgh in 2017.

Personal Life and Relationships

She got married to Toussaint Louverture Jones Jr. They got divorced in 2006. They stayed married for almost 12 years. Epatha does not have any children out of this marriage. Jones is a retired social worker. She started dating her former husband in 1975. She was in a children's theatre company. In 1980, Jones worked in Washington, DC and Epatha was in New York City. They thought that the relationship was over and decided to remain friends till the end.

After she got her role in 'Law and Order,' she called her former boyfriend. Jones asked her to visit him in Washington, DC. She agreed and visited him. After seeing him, Jones could not leave his girlfriend out of his sight. They started dating again. They dated for four years and then got married in 1994.

When it comes to her divorce, there are no details about it. All the sources have only one information that she divorced him in 2006, on Valentine's Day. There are no details regarding who initiated the separation, how long they lived separately, the reason for the split, and the separation settlements. Epatha never talked about her marital life problems in the media. Jones was not available to comment on the same, too.

There are no details about her current dating life. She is not active when it comes to dating. As per sources, she has dated only one man, seriously. There are no known affairs before she met Jones. She was not accused of any extramarital relationship when she was married, Jones. Jones was also not accused of cheating on his wife.

There are no details about Jones' personal life. Jones was never active in the media. She said that she lost her speech for the Emmy award. She said that she thanked her divorce lawyer, Sandy Ain, in the note. When asked why she said that he saved her a lot of money. When asked about her marital life, she said that she had been married for too long. There are rumors that she has lung cancer, but there are no reports to prove it.

Sandy Ain said that he was shocked and happy to watch it, and he has never been thanked at a National award. When asked about her separation from Ain, he said he had a very tight lip regarding the client details and was not ready to give any information about it. After this incident, her separation came to light. Till then, no one knew that she was divorced. She keeps robust privacy with her details. According to many personalities, this would help to keep a lot of rumors away. Epatha has no words associated with her.

With the information collected, Epatha is divorced and has no children. She is single as of now and is not actively dating for planning to be married again.

Career

In 1978, Merkerson moved to Albany, New York, to join a theatre company. She later moved to New York City.

Merkerson made her television debut as Reba, the Mail Lady on Pee-wee's Playhouse. Merkerson has also appeared on The Cosby Show, among other series.

She first appeared in the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order in "Mushrooms" (Season 1: Episode 17) as the grief-stricken mother of an 11-month-old boy who has shot accidentally. Her performance impressed the producers enough to select Merkerson to replace Dann Florek as detective squad chief in the series' fourth season, making her one of the few actors to secure a recurring role after an initial single appearance on the show.

Merkerson's career began to rise after assuming the lead role in the one-woman play Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. That was followed by her performance as Berniece in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Piano Lesson. For that, she was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play. Merkerson won an Obie Award in 1992 for her work in I'm Not Stupid. Her screen credits include Jacob's Ladder, Loose Cannons; She has to Have It, James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day; and Navy Seals. In 2006, she won a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild award for her HBO film Lackawanna Blues performance. In 2007, she starred as Lola Delaney in the Los Angeles stage production of William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba, playing the role made famous by Shirley Booth. In 2003 she also played a role in the Movie Radio, as Maggie Kennedy Radio's mother. In January 2008, the production opened a successful run on Broadway and earned Merkerson her second Tony nomination.

On April 1, 2010, it was confirmed that after 17 seasons, Merkerson would leave Law & Order at the end of the show's twentieth season. Her departure from Law & Order, which aired on May 24, 2010, was also the final episode. In total, Merkerson appeared on the series for 17 consecutive seasons—395 episodes—more than any other actor associated with the program.

In 2012, Merkerson became the host of Find Our Missing, a reality-reenactment series on TV One which profiles missing people of color.[9] In Steven Spielberg's 2012 film Lincoln, she performed as Lydia Hamilton Smith, housekeeper to Tommy Lee Jones's character, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens.

In 2014, Merkerson appeared in the Primary Stages production of While I Yet Live, written by Billy Porter. In 2015, she joined the cast of NBC medical drama Chicago Med as Sharon Goodwin, Chief of Patient and Medical Services. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, Matt Olmstead, Derek Haas, and Michael Brandt conceived and wrote the series. Also, in 2014, Merkerson became a spokesperson for Merck America's Diabetes Challenge to increase Type 2 diabetes awareness among African Americans.

In addition to acting, Merkerson has been actively involved in raising lung cancer awareness and advocating against smoking. Over the years, Epatha has become an outspoken advocate as a result of her addiction to cigarettes. She was forced to quit her 23-year habit on a particular morning after she experienced breathing complications. Not wishing any other individual to go through the same experiences as her, Merkerson joined the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids as a Board member.

Most of Merkerson's fans were astonished at her look while she was cast in Law & Order, particularly those that follow her closely. On Law & Order, Sharon wore a wig that gave her a whole new, different appearance since her natural hair, as seen in various pictures, is in short locks. The reason behind Merkerson's appearance choice was her intention to appear more "professional," something that short locks fail to bring out well.

Despite acting in a law-based series, Merkerson faced a lawsuit in real life in December 2008. During this time, Gersh Agency sued Epatha for approximately $222,908. According to the talent agency, they and the actress had an oral agreement to represent her at a 10% commission. However, details of the lawsuit are not clearly defined in public domains.

Epatha's film credits include portraying in Random Hearts in 1999, Radio in 2003, and Jersey Girl in 2004. After her television came back, Merkerson starred in Lackawanna Blues in 2005. Her cast earned her various awards, such as a Grammy and an Emmy. More recently, Sharon appeared on Lincoln characterizing Lydia Smith. In 2013, the actress was cast in Boomerang, a TV movie. A year later, Epatha was in another TV movie dubbed The Gabby Douglas Story. Some of Merkerson's latest casts include roles on programs such as Drop Dead Diva, Peeples, The Good Wife, and Deception.

Health

While speaking about her health struggle, Merkerson narrated a Type 2 diabetes history in her family. However, even when getting tested for the disease, Sharon was still oblivious to the symptoms. Despite fighting the disease for over ten years, Merkerson admits that more help would prove significant in managing the illness. The Chicago Med colleagues happily offer Sharon their assistance when need be.

When the Chicago Med was on what was seemingly a summer hiatus, Merkerson, alongside the America Diabetes Association, indulged in raising awareness related to the chronic illness. During this time, Sharon served as America's Diabetes Challenge website spokeswoman. The website recommends Type-2 diabetic individuals use the AIC blood test to manage their blood sugar and share their stories.

According to the actress, what's most important is the understanding of Type 2 diabetes as a manageable chronic illness. However, she advises patients to be conversant with the facts. But patients need to worry less since the website above is significant in answering most patients' Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and sharing individual experiences related to fighting the disease.