About Joanna Merlin
Joanna Merlin was an American actress and casting director who worked with Stephen Sondheim and starred in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She wrote two acting guides and was a faculty member of New York University's graduate acting program. From 2000 to 2011, she was known for her recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge Lena Petrovsky. Merlin first acted on stage at age 11, joining a community theatre production, Too Many Marys. Merlin made her first screen appearance in Cecil B. Company was the first musical for which Merlin served as the casting director. Merlin taught in New York University's graduate acting program at the Tisch School of the Arts and in 1999, founded the Michael Chekhov Association where she taught acting workshops.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.