Erika Alexander

Erika Rose Alexander (born November 19, 1969) is an American actress, writer, producer, entrepreneur and activist who played the roles of Pam Tucker on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show from 1990 to 1992, and Maxine Shaw on the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998. She has won numerous awards for her work on Living Single, including two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. Her film credits include The Long Walk Home, 30 Years to Life (2001), Déjà Vu (2006), Get Out (2017), American Refugee (2021), Earth Mama (2023) and American Fiction (2023), for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance.

Early life Alexander was born on November 19, 1969, in Winslow, Arizona, and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, until age eleven, when she and her family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is one of six children born to Robert and Sammie Alexander, a schoolteacher and a children's book author, respectively. She graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls.

Acting career Alexander was discovered at 14 by independent film company Merchant Ivory when she was attending the fifth week of a six-week summer acting class at the New Freedom Theatre.

In 1990, Alexander starred opposite Whoopi Goldberg in the civil rights epic drama film The Long Walk Home. She was then cast as Pam Tucker on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, starring on the series from 1990 until the show's finale in 1992. That same year, Alexander starred in the ABC comedy-drama series Going to Extremes, which centered on a group of American students at a medical school on a fictitious Caribbean island named Jantique. The series was canceled after one season in early 1993.

Later in 1993, Alexander began starring as attorney Maxine Shaw in the Fox sitcom Living Single, a role she played for five years until 1998. For this role, Alexander won two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in 1996 and 1998. In 1996, she also made a cameo appearance in Toni Braxton's music video for her song "You're Makin' Me High".

In 1998, Alexander starred as "Young Flora", acting along with Cicely Tyson and her former Living Single co-star Queen Latifah, in the CBS miniseries Mama Flora's Family, based on a novel by Alex Haley. She also appeared in the 1998 drama film 54. In 2001, Alexander starred in the comedy film 30 Years to Life, receiving a Black Reel Award for Best Independent Actress for her performance.

In 2002, Alexander played probation officer Dee Mulhern in the Showtime drama series Street Time, which ran for two seasons. She had recurring roles in Judging Amy, In Plain Sight, Low Winter Sun and Let's Stay Together. Alexander also guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Half & Half,7th Heaven (TV series), ER, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Minds, House, Suits and Grey's Anatomy. Additionally, she appeared in a number of films during the 2000s and 2010s. In 2006, Alexander played the role of Shanti, a technical science engineer in the science fiction action film Deja Vu opposite Denzel Washington. She later starred opposite Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Ray Valdez in the 2009 drama film La Mission.

From 2012 to 2015, Alexander had a recurring role as Carol Larabee, Mike and Vanessa's neighbor, in the ABC comedy series Last Man Standing. Tisha Campbell-Martin replaced her in the role during the show's seventh season. In 2014, Alexander had a supporting role in the comedy-drama Elsa & Fred starring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer. In 2017, she played Detective Latoya in the horror film Get Out.

From 2016 to 2017, Alexander starred as Constance Irving in the Amazon drama Bosch. She had recurring roles in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar in 2016 and Freeform fantasy drama Beyond from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, she was cast in a recurring role as Perenna in the CW superhero series Black Lightning. She received an NAACP Image Award nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy or Drama Series. Also in 2019, Alexander began starring in the Hulu drama series, Wu-Tang: An American Saga. In 2021, she began appearing in a recurring role in the Starz comedy series, Run the World. The following year, she starred in The Roku Channel drama series, Swimming with Sharks.

Alexander appeared in the 2019 horror-thriller film I See You and played the lead in the Blumhouse horror-thriller American Refugee (2021). She later appeared in the comedy-drama film, Wildflower, and the drama film Earth Mama. In 2023, she starred opposite Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction. She received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance nomination for her performance.

In May 2025 it was announced that Alexander would star in the Tina Fey-produced television series The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins alongside Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe.

Writing and publishing In 2012, Alexander co-created and co-wrote a science-fiction graphic novel, Concrete Park, with then-husband Tony Puryear. In 2018, she penned season eleven of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic Giles with Buffy creator Joss Whedon. In 2023, she created and co-wrote the Dupont Columbia Award-winning Audible true-crime series Finding Tamika.

Alexander is a co-founder (with Ben Arnon) of Color Farm Media, an entertainment, innovation, and social impact company; in 2020, they released John Lewis: Good Trouble, a documentary focusing on civil rights leader John Lewis.

Political activity Alexander actively campaigned for Hillary Clinton and toured college campuses with Chelsea Clinton during the 2008 Democratic Party primary.

Personal life From 1997 to 2017, Alexander was married to artist and screenwriter Tony Puryear.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1986 My Little Girl Joan 1990 Selma Cotter 1991 He Said, She Said Rita 1992 Fathers & Sons Venell 1998 54 Ciel 2001 30 Years to Life Joy 2002 Love Liza Brenda Full Frontal Lucy 2004 Tricks Laurel 2006 Déjà Vu Shanti 2009 La Mission Lena 2014 Elsa & Fred Laverne Secrets of the Magic City Ms. Fletcher 2016 Undone Andrea Rose Short Brave New Jersey Helen Holbrook 2017 Get Out Detective Latoya 2019 I See You Lieutenant Moriah Davis 2021 American Refugee Helen Taylor 2022 Wildflower Mary 2023 Earth Mama Miss Carmen American Fiction Coraline 2026 Is God Is Divine The Healer

Television Year Title Role Notes 1986 ABC Afterschool Special - Episode: "Teen Father" George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation Oney TV movie 1989 The Mahabharata Madri/Hidimbaa Main cast 1990 Common Ground Cassandra Twymon Episode: "Part I & II" Law & Order Doris Carver Episode: "Poison Ivy" Amy TV movie 1990–92 Pam Tucker Main cast (season 7–8) 1992–93 Going to Extremes Cheryl Carter Main cast 1993–98 Living Single Maxine "Max" Felice Shaw Main cast 1994 Override Shawana TV movie 1998 Mama Flora's Family Young Flora 2 episodes 2001 Agent Rush (voice) Recurring cast (season 1) Judging Amy Fran Winston Recurring cast (season 2–3) 2002–03 Street Time Dee Mulhern Main cast 2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Kema Mabuda Episode: "Ritual" LAX Allison Episode: "Thanksgiving" 2005 Half & Half Maxine Shaw Episode: "The Big Performance Anxiety Episode" 7th Heaven Lynn Miles Episode: "Leaps of Faith" 2006 In Justice Alyssa Hill Episode: "The Ten Percenter" Heist Saundra Johnson Recurring cast ER Vatima Abika Episode: "No Place to Hide" 2007 Side Order of Life Colette Episode: "Pilot" CSI: Crime Scene Investigation A.D.A. Kirkson Episode: "The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp" Numb3rs U.S. Marshal Tricia Yaegger Episode: "In Security" CSI: Miami Tanya Thorpe Episode: "Guerillas in the Mist" 2009 Criminal Minds Detective Lynne Henderson Episode: "The Big Wheel" 2010 In Plain Sight Theresa Simmons Recurring cast (season 3) 2011 House Ms. Fields Episode: "Two Stories" 2012 Suburgatory Gloria Episode: "The Motherload" Suits Sarah Layton Episode: "Discovery" 2012–15 Last Man Standing Carol Larabee Recurring cast (season 2–5) 2013 Low Winter Sun Louise "LC" Cullen Recurring cast 2014 Let's Stay Together Blanche Recurring cast (season 4) NCIS: New Orleans Navy Commander Louanne Bates Episode: "Carrier" 2015 Grey's Anatomy Johanna McKay Episode: "Crazy Love" 2016 Recovery Road Trish's Mother Episode: "My Loose Thread" Queen Sugar LeAnne Recurring cast (season 1) 2016–17 Bosch Connie Irving Recurring cast (season 2–3) 2017–18 Beyond Tess Shoemaker Recurring cast 2018 Insecure Yolanda Recurring cast (season 3) 2018–19 Black Lightning Perenna Recurring cast (season 2) 2019–23 Wu-Tang: An American Saga Linda Diggs Main cast (season 1), recurring cast (season 2–3) 2021–23 Run the World Barb Recurring cast 2022 Swimming with Sharks Meredith Main cast Shining Girls Abby Recurring cast 2023 Black Pop: Celebrating the Power of Black Culture Herself Episode: "Film" 2025–present Invasion Verna Main cast (season 3) 2026 The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Monica Reese-Dinkins Main cast

Music videos Year Artist Song Role 1996 Toni Braxton "You're Makin' Me High" Friend

Awards and nominations Year Awards Category Recipient Outcome 1996 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series Living Single 1997 2002 Black Reel Awards Black Reel Award for Best Independent Actress 30 Years to Life 2017 Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Acting Brave New Jersey 2019 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy or Drama Series Black Lightning 2022 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Television Series Run the World 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture American Fiction 2026 Black Reel Awards Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins