'Law & Order' Actress Lynda Gravátt Has Died

New York stage actress Lynda Gravátt has died at 76. Her son, former NBC News journalist David Gravátt, told The Hollywood Reporter that his mother, who was also known for roles in Law & Order and spinoffs SVU and Criminal Intent, passed away on Friday at a hospital in New Brunswick. A cause of death has not been revealed.

Gravátt was born in Harlem, New York on May 24, 1947 and appeared in her first Broadway production, The King and I, when she was just 4 years old. At 9 years old, she performed in recitals at the famed Carnegie Hall. Her love for the theater only grew, appearing in productions at Howard University while attending the HBCU and graduating in 1971. In college, she also acted at the Living Stage, a theatre company in D.C.

After graduating, she appeared in numerous stage productions over the years, including A Raisin in the Sun, Crowns, Doubt, Skeleton Crew, and more. Her final Broadway performance came in 2008 when she understudied the role of Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She's a founding member of Robert Alexander's Living Stage at Arena Stage Company. In 1999, Gravátt received a Theatre World trophy for her performance as Quilly McGrath in The Old Settler, as well as an AUDELCO prize in 2004 for her role as Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel.

Along with theater, Lynda Gravátt also had a successful run on television and film. While she's appeared in three different Law & Order shows, Gravátt portrayed a different character on each one. She played the role of Antoinette in a Season 4 episode of the OG series in 1994. Twelve years later, she returned to the franchise as Judge Tamara Kingston in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, in a Season 5 episode and a Season 6 episode. She played a judge again on SVU for Season 12, this time Judge Jane Emery. However, in Season 8, she portrayed Mrs. Mason.

Other series include The Hoop Life, Sex and the City, The Good Wife, 30 Rock, and Elementary. Short-lived CBS drama East New York was her final role in 2023, portraying Alberta Moore in two episodes of the first season. Gravátt also appeared in multiple films, including The Outside Story, Delivery Man, Violet & Daisy, The Bounty Hunter, and more.

Aside from acting and theater, Lynda Grávatt taught at Howard and Rutgers Universities and is also a founding faculty member at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington. She is survived by her sons, David and Oge; her grandchildren Josephine, Lucas, Ishmale, Ishana, and Isabella; and her half-sister, June Cross, who is a Peabody Award and National Emmy-winning documentarian.