Anita Van Buren
| Anita Van Buren | |
|---|---|
| Law & Order character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | "Sweeps" |
| Last appearance | "Rubber Room" |
| Portrayed by | S. Epatha Merkerson |
| Time on show | 1993–2010 |
| Seasons | 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
| Credited appearances | 390 episodes (L&O) 1 episode (CI) 1 episode (TBJ) 392 episodes (total) |
| Preceded by | Donald Cragen |
| Information | |
| Family | Donald (ex-husband) Ric (son) Stefan (son) Frank (fiancée) |
Lieutenant Anita Van Buren is a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order, portrayed by S. Epatha Merkerson. Van Buren appeared in 390 episodes of Law & Order and is the second longest-running regular character in the Law & Order franchise, behind Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), and the fourth longest-character in the Law & Order universe, behind John Munch (Richard Belzer), Cragen and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). By episode count, she is the longest-running character on the show. Van Buren appeared in 392 episodes within the franchise (390 of Law & Order, the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Badge" and the Law & Order: Trial by Jury episode "Skeleton") and Exiled: A Law & Order Movie.
Van Buren joins the cast in the 1993 episode "Sweeps", succeeding Capt. Don Cragen (Dann Florek) as commander of the 27th Precinct Detective Squad after Cragen transfers to the Anti-Corruption Task Force. Throughout her run on the show, she oversees the work of detectives such as Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, Rey Curtis, Ed Green, Joe Fontana, Nick Falco, Nina Cassady, Cyrus Lupo, and Kevin Bernard. When her detectives make mistakes, Van Buren focuses on salvaging investigations rather than focusing on their failures.
...
Wikipedia