Merle Dandridge (born May 31, 1975) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for performing in

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

s such as ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'', ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'', ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', and ''

Once on This Island ''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling ...

'', as well as her video game roles as

Alyx Vance Alyx Vance is a fictional character from Valve Corporation, Valve's ''Half-Life (series), Half-Life'' video game series. She is introduced as a non-playable, supporting character in ''Half-Life 2'' (2004), accompanying the player's character, Gor ...

in ''

Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation, Valve. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam (service), Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half- ...

'' and Marlene in ''

The Last of Us ''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel (The Last of Us), Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie (The Last of Us), Ell ...

'' and ''

The Last of Us Part II ''The Last of Us Part II'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Set five years after ''The Last of Us'' (2013), the game focuses on two playable chara ...

''. She played the leading role of Grace Greenleaf in the

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show h ...

drama series, '' Greenleaf'' (2016-2020). She also has had the recurring roles on television series such as ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

'' and '' The Night Shift'' and starred as Kim Hammond in the first season of

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

comedy-drama series, ''

The Flight Attendant ''The Flight Attendant'' is an American dark comedy drama mystery thriller television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. It stars Kaley Cuoco in the title role and premiered on HB ...

'' in 2020. In 2022, Dandridge began starring as Natasha Seo-Yeon Ross in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

action series ''

Station 19 ''Station 19'' is an American action- drama television series created by Stacy McKee for ABC that premiered on March 22, 2018. It is the second spin-off of '' Grey's Anatomy'' (after '' Private Practice''). Set in Seattle, the series focuses on ...

''. She will reprise her role as Marlene in the upcoming television adaptation of ''The Last of Us''.

Early life

Dandridge was born in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

on May 31, 1975. Dandridge’s mother identifies as half Japanese and half Korean, and her father is African-American. She moved back to the U.S. with her parents due to her father's job, and they lived at

Beale Air Force Base Beale Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. It is located outside Linda, about east of the towns of Marysville and Yuba City, and about north of Sacramento. The host ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

before settling at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska, where Dandridge spent the majority of her childhood. She attended

Papillion La Vista High School Papillion-La Vista Senior High School, often referred to as Papio, PLHS, North or "Old School", is located in Papillion, Nebraska, United States and is operated by the Papillion-La Vista Public School District. Its school colors are maroon and ...

and participated in the play production class and theater department there. She then attended the Theatre Conservatory at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

(currently called the

Chicago College of Performing Arts Chicago College of Performing Arts is a performing arts college that is housed at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. While the school is officially a part of Roosevelt University, it has its own distinct personality. The rel ...

Career

Dandridge began her career appearing in Chicago theatre productions. She has gained a wider audience as the voice of

in the award-winning action game ''

'' and its sequels, '' Episode One'' and '' Episode Two'', and also as Marlene in ''

''. In 2006, she was cast as Kala in the original Broadway production of

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

. Dandridge earned a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

for her voiceover performance in the 2015 game ''

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ''Everybody's Gone to the Rapture'' is an adventure video game developed by The Chinese Room and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It is a story-based game, taking place in a small English village whose inhabitants ...

''. On television, she guest starred on '' NCIS'', '' 24'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'', '' The Newsroom'' and ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliott ...

''. In 2022, she was cast in a series regular role as Chief in the NBC drama series ''Station 19''. Dandridge also had the recurring roles in the FX drama series, ''

'' as Rita Roosevelt, and short-lived

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

teen soap ''

Star-Crossed "Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers who, for some external reason, cannot be together. The term also has other meanings, but originally means that the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or ...

'' in 2014. In 2015, she co-starred in the second season of NBC medical drama, '' The Night Shift'' as Gwen Gaskin. In 2015, Dandridge was cast as the lead character in the

drama series, '' Greenleaf'' opposite

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield ('' née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

. She plays the role of Grace Greenleaf, Greenleaf's estranged daughter. Dandridge has received critical acclaim for her first leading screen role. From November 9, 2017, to January 7, 2018, Dandridge starred as Papa Ge the God of Death in the Broadway musical revival of ''

'', at the Circle in the Square Theater. She returned to the role of Papa Ge in a limited run from June 18 to August 19, 2018. Along with cast, she received

Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album producer, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more play ...

nomination for cast recording. Also in 2018, she had a recurring role in the CBS comedy series '' Murphy Brown'' playing the role of a network boss. In 2020, Dandridge was cast in a series regular role in the eight-episode

thriller drama series ''

''. In 2021 she was cast to reprise her role as

Marlene Marlene may refer to: People * Marlene (given name), including a list of people with the name * Marlene (Burmese businesswoman), Nang Kham Noung (born 1991) * Marlene (Japanese singer) (born 1960), a Filipina jazz singer active in Japan Film * ...

from the critically acclaimed game ''

'', in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series of the same name.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dandridge, Merle 1975 births African-American actresses American actresses of Japanese descent American actresses of Korean descent American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses American film actors of Asian descent Living people Roosevelt University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people BAFTA winners (people)