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Erica Gimpel
Born
Erica Fawn Gimpel

(1964-06-25) June 25, 1964 (age 60)
New York City, U.S.
Education High School of Performing Arts
Occupation
Years active 1982–present
Known for

Erica Fawn Gimpel (born June 25, 1964) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and composer. She is best known for her roles on television shows Fame as Coco Hernandez and on Profiler as Angel Brown. She is also known for her recurring roles on the television shows ER as Adele Newman and on Veronica Mars as Alicia Fennel. From 2018 to 2020, Gimpel had a series regular role as Trish on the series God Friended Me.

Gimpel was a judge on RTÉ One's Fame: The Musical, an Irish TV talent show seeking a boy and a girl to play Nick and Serena respectively in the Irish touring production of Fame.

In January 2010, Gimpel released her first CD, Spread your Wings and Fly.

Personal life

Gimpel was born in Manhattan, New York in 1964. She graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts a few months after she started filming her role as a student at the same school for the television show Fame. She had toured the United States and Europe with her mother, singer Phyllis Bash, who was in the opera Porgy and Bess. Her father was Joseph Gimpel, an actor, singer and writer.

Gimpel family singing "Our Love Is Here To Stay"

Career

Film and television

Gimpel has starred in numerous primetime and streaming shows including NCIS: New Orleans, Chicago Med, Grey's Anatomy, Shut Eye, True Blood, Criminal Minds, Nikita, Rizzoli & Isles, House, ER, Profiler, and Veronica Mars. One of Gimpel's favorite projects was playing Trish on the CBS drama God Friended Me for two seasons. She played Ellie Fielding in Mayfair Witches and Brittany Arrington on The Night Agent.

On film, she has appeared in Tuesday Morning Ride (1995), Smoke, King of New York, No Such Thing, Freaky Friday, Romeo and Juliet in Harlem, and Sylvie's Love, and in the independent feature Bang Bang (2023).

Theater

Theater credits include originating the role of Mayme in Lynn Nottage's award-winning Intimate Apparel., Glory Bee in States of Shock, and Nelly in Each Day Dies With Sleep. Gimpel received the Stage Raw Award for Best Solo Performance for her work in the one-woman play Sister by Michael Phillip Edwards.

Music

Gimpel composed and performed the song "This Moment" on God Friended Me. She also co-wrote and performed the song "Goodbye" on Babylon 5.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Case Closed Kathy TV movie
1990 King of New York Dr. Shute
Penny Ante: The Motion Picture Dale Martinez
1991 Homicide Woman with Randolph
Undertow Nina
1994 Fence, TheThe Fence Jackie
Amateur Irate Woman
1995 Smoke Doreen Cole
Flirt Nurse
Tuesday Morning Ride Modine Short
Price of Love, TheThe Price of Love Officer Hudson TV movie
1996 Sticks & Stones Miss William
1997 Touch Me Kareen
1999 Santa and Pete Cassie Moore TV movie
Intimate Betrayal Toni TV movie
2001 No Such Thing Judy
Impostor Newscaster No. 1
2003 Freaky Friday Harry's Teacher
2004 In Your Eyes Yolie
Boyfriend for Christmas, AA Boyfriend for Christmas Beth TV movie
Betty's Treats Mrs. Wilson Short
Beck and Call Leah TV Short
2006 Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall Margaret Monroe TV movie
2007 List, TheThe List Gail
2009 Veronika Decides to Die Nurse White
Blue Eyes Sandra
2010 Machete Joe Erica
2013 Tio Papi Det. Johnson
2015 Cloudy with a Chance of Love Dr. Ruth Harris TV movie
..., Death and Bowling Shanti
2017 Romeo and Juliet in Harlem Nurse
2020 Sylvie's Love Eunice
2021 Far More Shanti
2024 Bang Bang Sharon

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1982–87 Fame Coco Hernandez Main Cast: Season 1–3, Guest: Season 4 & 6
1985 Spenser: For Hire Shelley Episode: "Original Sin"
North and South Semiramis Main Cast
1986 North and South, Book II Semiramis Main Cast
1988 Cosby Show, TheThe Cosby Show Jennifer Episode: "Waterworks"
1990 American Playhouse Wendy Episode: "Women & Wallace"
1994 Law & Order Templeton Episode: "Breeder"
Touched by an Angel Sydney Jessup Episode: "Tough Love"
1995 New York Undercover Melinda Episode: "The Smoking Section"
1996 Babylon 5 Cailyn Episode: "Walkabout"
1996–99 Profiler Angel Brown Main Cast: Season 1–3, Recurring Cast: Season 3-4
1997 Big Easy, TheThe Big Easy Felice Carlyle Episode: "Driving Ms. Money"
1997–03 ER Adele Newman Recurring Cast: Season 3-4 & 6-8, Guest: Season 9
1999 Any Day Now Laura Sanders Episode: "A Parent's Job"
2000 District, TheThe District Ella's Lawyer Episode: "The Real Terrorist" & "How They Lived"
2001 Roswell FBI Agent Suzanne Duff Recurring Cast: Season 2
2002 Touched by an Angel Sydney Jessup Episode: "The Last Chapter"
MDs Allison Greely Episode: "Cruel and Unusual"
2003–04 JAG Varese Chestnut Episode: "A Merry Little Christmas" & "What If"
2004 Division, TheThe Division Aimee Breckridge Episode: "Bite Me"
2004–06 Veronica Mars Alicia Fennel Recurring Cast: Season 1-2
2005 Everwood Dr. Gans Episode: "Surprise"
2006 House Elizabeth Stone Episode: "Failure to Communicate"
Numb3rs Principal Riva Bell Episode: "Waste Not"
Criminal Minds Sarah Episode: "Profiler, Profiled"
2006–07 Boston Legal Attorney Samantha Fried Recurring Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 3
2007 Close to Home Dr. Udell Episode: "Protégé"
Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses Police Sgt. Joanne Matterson Episode: "If Wishes Were Horses"
2008 Eleventh Hour Lizzie Summers Episode: "Cardiac"
2009 Grey's Anatomy Bethany Anderson Episode: "Invest in Love"
2011 Prime Suspect Principal Episode: "Wednesday's Child"
Young and the Restless, TheThe Young and the Restless Det. Harriet Mauro Regular Cast
2011–12 Rizzoli & Isles ER Doctor Episode: "Burning Down the House" & "What Doesn't Kill You"
2012 Nikita Carla Bennett Recurring Cast: Season 2
Criminal Minds Sarah Episode: "The Company"
True Blood Faerie Elder Episode: "Sunset"
2013 Cult Ginny Yarrow Episode: "The Good Fight" & "The Devil You Know"
2014 Switched at Birth Yvette Gifford Episode: "Have You Really the Courage?"
Enormous Caroline Episode: "Enormous"
2015 Code Black Alice Sellers Episode: "Black Tag"
2016 The Catch Renée Etheridge Episode: "The Larágan Gambit"
Murder in the First Corinne Hager Episode: "The Barbers of Seville"
2017 Shut Eye Agent Sims Recurring Cast: Season 2
2018 Chicago Med Lydia Singleton Episode: "An Inconvenient Truth"
2018–20 God Friended Me Trisha Recurring Cast: Season 1, Main Cast: Season 2
2021 NCIS New Orleans Lynette Carter Episode: "Leda and the Swan, Part 1 & 2"
2022 9-1-1 Pauline Barrett Episode: "Fear-o-phobia"
2023 Mayfair Witches Ellie Recurring Cast
The Night Agent Brittany Arrington Episode: "The Marionette"

See also

  • The Kids from "Fame"
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