Erica Tazel
American theatre and television actor (born 1977)
title: "Erica Tazel" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["african-american-actresses", "actresses-from-dallas", "spelman-college-alumni", "tisch-school-of-the-arts-alumni", "american-stage-actresses", "american-shakespearean-actresses", "1977-births", "living-people"] description: "American theatre and television actor (born 1977)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erica_Tazel" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American theatre and television actor (born 1977) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Erica Tazel |
| image | Erica Tazel - April 2015 (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Tazel at the Paley Center in 2015 |
| birth_date | 1977 |
| birth_place | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| known_for | Justified |
| education | Spelman College (BA) |
| New York University (MFA) | |
| occupation | Actress |
| years_active | 2000–present |
| :: |
| name = Erica Tazel | image = Erica Tazel - April 2015 (cropped).jpg | caption = Tazel at the Paley Center in 2015 | birth_date = 1977 | birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S. | known_for = Justified | education = Spelman College (BA) New York University (MFA) | occupation = Actress | years_active = 2000–present Erica Tazel (born 1977) is an American theatre and television actress best known for the role of US Deputy Marshal Rachel Brooks in the FX television series Justified (2010–2015).
Life and career
Tazel holds a B.A. from Spelman College and an M.F.A. from New York University's Graduate Acting Program.
She made her professional acting debut at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s The Winter’s Tale (2000); further roles include at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Cymbeline, and an off-Broadway appearance in Playwrights Horizons' Juvenilia. Tazel was nominated for the L.A. Drama Critics Circle award for Lead Performance, for her work in I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given To Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda (role of Juliette, 2007) at The Colony Theatre in Burbank, CA, and received the NAACP Theatre Award for Best Lead Female (2007) for that same role.
On screen, Tazel has made limited appearances, including a minor role in the David Duchovny drama House of D (2004, table below), starring Anton Yelchin, Robin Williams, Téa Leoni, and Erykah Badu.
Tazel's television debut was as a dance teacher in an episode of Sex and the City (2001); prior to her supporting role in Justified she was a guest lead on Without A Trace, had recurring roles on Jericho and Third Watch, and guest roles on programs including The Office, ER, Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Life, Heartland, Bones, and Firefly.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | House of D | Reader | |
| 2010 | As It Is | Lark | Short |
| 2015 | Runaway Island | Vonda Hines | |
| Mr. Right | Lisa | ||
| 2016 | Gubagude Ko | Dembe | Short |
| 2017 | Lawman | Nellie Reeves | Short |
| Odious | Evelyn | ||
| 2019 | Cognitive | Nurse Alisse | Short |
| The Summer People | Kim Nixon | TV movie | |
| 2020 | Always and Forever | Paige | |
| 2021 | The Deadliest Lie | Sam | |
| 2022 | The Devil You Know | Eva Dylan | |
| 2023 | Big George Foreman | Mary Foreman | |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Sex and the City | Dance Teacher Grace | Episode: "Baby, Talk Is Cheap" |
| Third Watch | Shaquana Golden | Episode: "He Said/She Said" & "Childhood Memories" | |
| 2002 | Firefly | Doralee | Episode: "Safe" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Lynn Hauser | Episode: "Risk" |
| Law & Order | Receptionist | Episode: "Suicide Box" | |
| 2006 | Bones | Karen Merton | Episode: "The Soldier on the Grave" |
| 2007 | Jericho | Jessica Williams | Recurring Cast: Season 1 |
| Without a Trace | Tess Pratt | Episode: "Skin Deep" | |
| Heartland | Temple | Episode: "A Beautiful Day" | |
| ER | Mrs. Birk | Episode: "Blackout" | |
| 2008 | Life | Mum at Park | Episode: "Find Your Happy Place" |
| 2009 | The Office | Julia | Episode: "Lecture Circuit: Part 1" |
| 2010–15 | Justified | Rachel Brooks | Main Cast |
| 2015 | Kroll Show | Detective Hall | Recurring Cast: Season 3 |
| NCIS | Coach Curry | Episode: "Troll" | |
| 2016 | Roots | Matilda | Episode: "Part 3 & 4" |
| 2017 | The Night Shift | Dr. Bella Cummings | Recurring Cast: Season 4 |
| The Orville | Baleth | Episode: "Mad Idolatry" | |
| 2017–18 | The Good Fight | Barbara Kolstad | Main Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 |
| 2018 | DC's Legends of Tomorrow | Esi Jiwe | Episode: "Guest Starring John Noble" |
| 2019 | Queen Sugar | Deesha Brown-Sonnier | Recurring Cast: Season 4 |
| Raising Dion | Danielle | Episode: "Issue #107: Why So Vomity?" | |
| 2020 | God Friended Me | Bonnie | Episode: "The Fugitive" |
| Lovecraft Country | Dora Freeman | Recurring Cast | |
| 2021-23 | Truth Be Told | Charise Spivey | Recurring Cast: Season 2-3 |
| 2022 | All American: Homecoming | Veronica Skinner | Episode: "Move On" & "Confessions" |
| :: |
Video games
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Mafia 3 | Cassandra | Voice & likeness |
| :: |
References
References
- [http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/erica-tazel/bio/298233 Erica Tazel Biography] from TVGuide.com, retrieved 11 June 2014
- http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/justified/cast.php, entry "Erica Tazel", accessed 3 December 2012
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::