Joanna Merlin
Acting
Born July 16, 1931 · Chicago, Illinois, USA
Biography
Joanna Merlin (born Joann Ratner; July 15, 1931) was an American actress and casting director who has worked with Stephen Sondheim and starred in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She has written two acting guides and is a faculty member of New York University's graduate acting program. In recent years, she has become known for her recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge Lena Petrovsky. Joann Ratner, who later took her mother's maiden name, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Toni Merlin and Harry Ratner, a Jewish grocer. Her family also included her…
Known For · 40 titles
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order
The Good Wife
Homeland
American Experience
Northern Exposure
L.A. Law
American Playhouse
Naked City
Amazing Stories
New York Undercover
The Ten Commandments
The Invasion
The Jury
Fame
City of Angels
Another World
The Killing Fields
Prince of Darkness
All That Jazz
Mystic Pizza
Sarah's Key
The Wackness
Baby It's You
Class Action
In a Child's Name
Mr. Wonderful
Murder in Black and White
Two Bits
Love Child
Witness Protection
The Power and the Glory
Soup for One
Nurse
Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number
Hester Street
The Prosecutors
The Last Tenant
The Jimmy Show
Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage