Background
Joann Ratner, who later took her mother"s maiden name, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Toni Merlin and Harry Ratner, a Jewish grocer.
Joann Ratner, who later took her mother"s maiden name, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Toni Merlin and Harry Ratner, a Jewish grocer.
Merlin graduated from University of California, Los Angeles and later studied under Michael Chekhov, learning his world-renowned acting technique.
In recent years, she has become known for her recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge Lena Petrovsky. She first acted on stage at age 11, joining a community theatre production, Too Many Marys. She has been described as the last student of Michael Chekhov who is still alive and teaching.
Merlin made her first screen appearance in Cecil B. DeMille"s film The Ten Commandments in 1956.
Five years later, she made her Broadway debut in Becket before playing Tzeitel in Harold Prince"s production of Fiddler on the Roof. She left the cast of Fiddler on the Roof before the end of its tour to take care of her two small children but Harold Prince gave her the opportunity to become involved in casting with a more flexible schedule.
Company was the first musical for which Merlin served as the casting director She was also in charge of casting for such plays as Follies, Evita and Sweeney Todd.
In 1986, she served as casting director for the John Carpenter film, Big Trouble in Little China.
Like many actors from that show, she went on to play other characters in the Law & Order franchise - another defense attorney in the original show and a more recurring role as Judge Lena Petrovsky, a judge who was very stern, by-the-book, and has scolded or sanctioned, at various times, ADAs Casey Novak (Diane Neal) and Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) in its first spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In the latter role, she appeared in every season between the years 2000 and 2011. In 2001, Joanna Merlin wrote Auditioning: An Actor-Friendly Guide and in 2007, shared her knowledge of the theatre industry in the instructional video Master Classes in the Michael Chekhov Technique.
She teaches 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 teaches acting workshops.
She has written two acting guides and is a faculty member of New York University"s graduate acting program