CCH Pounder

Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952), known professionally as CCH Pounder, is a Guyanese American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, made-for-television films, television miniseries, and plays, and has made guest appearances on notable television shows. From 1994 to 1997, she played Dr. Angela Hicks in the medical drama ER. From 2002 to 2008, she starred as Detective Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama The Shield. In 2009, she appeared as Mo'at in James Cameron's film Avatar. She starred in recurring roles as Mrs. Irene Frederic on the series Warehouse 13 and DA Thyne Patterson on the FX series Sons of Anarchy. Currently she portrays medical examiner Dr. Loretta Wade on NCIS: New Orleans.

Early life
Pounder was born in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana), daughter of Ronald Urlington Pounder and of Betsy Enid Arnella (nee James). She was educated in England and moved to the U.S. in 1970, where she attended Ithaca College.

Career


Pounder made her acting debut in the film All That Jazz (1979).

Pounder started her professional career in New York City theater, where she appeared in The Mighty Gents, by playwright Richard Wesley, and Open Admissions on Broadway. She moved to Los Angeles in 1982. Pounder starred in the film Bagdad Café, and has made smaller appearances in many other successful films. She has focused primarily on her television career. In the early 1980s, Pounder first appeared in guest roles on Hill Street Blues, and then on several popular shows (The Cosby Show, RoboCop 3, L.A. Law, The X-Files, Living Single, and Quantum Leap) before landing a long-running recurring role as Dr. Angela Hicks on ER, from 1994 to 1997. In the midst of this she co-starred in the Tales From the Crypt feature film Demon Knight (1995). She then returned to guest appearances on other shows, including The Practice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Millennium, The West Wing (where she was considered for the role of C. J. Cregg), and the short-lived sitcom Women in Prison.

From 2002 to 2008, she starred as Detective Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama The Shield. For this role she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2005 and an NAACP Image Award. She had previously been nominated for an Emmy in 1995 (for guest starring in The X-Files) and in 1997 (for her supporting role on ER). She has also lent her voice to several video games and animated projects, including Aladdin and the King of Thieves, True Crime: Streets of LA, Gargoyles as Desdemona and Coldfire, and most recently Justice League Unlimited as government agent Amanda Waller, a role she reprised for the animated movie adaption of the comic book Superman/Batman: Public Enemies as well as the video game Batman: Arkham Origins, its companion/sequel Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, and another animated film that takes place in continuity with the games, Batman: Assault on Arkham. Also, Pounder was one of the readers for the HBO film Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narrative (2003), directed by Ed Bell and Thomas Lennon. She appeared on the Syfy series Warehouse 13 until its finale on May 19, 2014. Pounder also was one of the stars of Fox's cancelled 2009 sitcom Brothers. Pounder was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her appearance in the BBC/HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. She co-starred in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013). In "The Lion Guard" she voices of Kongwe the wise old Turtle.

Advocacy
As one of the founders of Artists for a New South Africa, Pounder has energized awareness of post-apartheid and HIV/AIDS issues. In an interview, she said about the pandemic: "When it's this massive disease, and it's affecting things in five thousand different ways, it requires great strength and power—and there is power in numbers. So we need to involve as many people as we can, like we do with ANSA. I call it my little engine that could. It is a remarkable, tiny organization with a huge outreach. We use actors and artists with the biggest voices so they can use every opportunity to talk about AIDS."