Marsha Stephanie Blake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marsha Stephanie Blake
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Blake in production of The Merchant of Venice (2010)
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| Born | c. May 1974 (age 50) |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College UCSD (MFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Children | 1 |
Marsha Stephanie Blake (born 3 May 1974) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Linda McCray in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.
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Life and career
Blake was born in Jamaica and emigrated to the United States in the late 1980s with her family. She attended Dartmouth College and graduated in 1996. She received an MFA from the graduate acting program at UCSD.
Blake has played many roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including The Merchant of Venice, Come and Gone, The Crucible, An Octoroon, and Hurt Village. On television, she guest-starred in Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Third Watch, Elementary, and The Good Wife.
In 2015, Blake joined the cast of the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black playing Berdie Rogers. Along with the cast, she received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She also had recurring roles on Happyish, Getting On and The Blacklist. In 2019, Blake played Linda McCray in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us directed by Ava DuVernay. Later in 2019, Blake was cast as Vivian Maddox in How to Get Away with Murder for the sixth and final season, and in fourth season of This Is Us opposite her When They See Us co-star, Asante Blackk.
Blake also has appeared in a number of movies, including The Architect (2006), Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (2013), Nasty Baby (2015), Person to Person (2017), Crown Heights (2017), The Wilde Wedding (2017), Luce (2019), See You Yesterday (2019), The Laundromat (2019), and I'm Your Woman (2020). She received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Film at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, for her performance as Ruth in the drama film Brother.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | A-Alike | Jada | Short film |
| 2006 | The Architect | Missy Neeley | |
| 2007 | Lifted | Nadine | Short film |
| 2012 | Django Unchained | House Slave | Deleted scene |
| 2013 | Stand Clear of the Closing Doors | Carmen | |
| 2014 | The Story of Milo & Annie | Shirley | Short film |
| 2015 | Nasty Baby | Mo's Sister / Haimy | |
| 2015 | Our Nation | Margaret | |
| 2017 | Person to Person | Janet | |
| 2017 | Crown Heights | Briana | |
| 2017 | Imitation Girl | Karen | |
| 2017 | The Wilde Wedding | Officer Brady | |
| 2019 | Luce | Rosemary Wilson | |
| 2019 | Goldie | Carol | |
| 2019 | See You Yesterday | Phaedra | |
| 2019 | The Laundromat | Vincelle Boncamper | |
| 2020 | The Photograph | Violet Eames | |
| 2020 | An American Pickle | Inspector Sanders | |
| 2020 | I'm Your Woman | Teri | |
| 2022 | Brother | Ruth | Nominated — Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Film Nominated — Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Third Watch | Myrna Addison | Episode: "Cold Front" |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Maria | Episode: "Outcry" |
| 2005 | Law & Order | Clinic Doctor | Episode: "Locomotion" |
| 2006 | Six Degrees | Nanny | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2011 | The Big C | Vampire Nurse | Episode: "Boo!" |
| 2011 | A Gifted Man | Kelly Jones | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Elementary | Melanie Cullen | Episode: "M." |
| 2014 | Girls | Publisher | Episode: "Only Child" |
| 2014 | Chicago P.D. | Janice Watkins | Episode: "Prison Ball" |
| 2015 | Orange Is the New Black | Berdie Rogers | 8 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series |
| 2015 | Happyish | Michelle | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Public Morals | Tina | Episode: "Collection Day" |
| 2015 | The Good Wife | Maia Sachs | Episode: "Taxed" |
| 2015 | Getting On | Yvette Ortley | 3 episodes |
| 2016–2019 | The Blacklist | Janet MacNamara | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Quantico | Leslie Thomas | Episode: "Bullet Train" |
| 2019 | When They See Us | Linda McCray | Miniseries Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Limited Series African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Nominated – Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries |
| 2019–2020 | How to Get Away with Murder | Vivian Maddox | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | This Is Us | Kelly Hodges | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | FBI: Most Wanted | Denise Tyson | Episode: "Defender" |
| 2022 | The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey | Niecie | Main role |
| 2023 | Wilderness | Detective Rawlings | |
| 2024 | Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist | Upcoming miniseries |
