# CCH Pounder

Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) is an American actress. She portrayed Mo'at in the Avatar franchise, Amanda Waller in various DC media, and Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama series The Shield (2002–2008). She has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in The X-Files, ER, The Shield, and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
Pounder portrayed Dr. Angela Hicks in the medical drama series ER (1994–1997), Irene Frederic in Warehouse 13 (2009–2014), and District Attorney Tyne Patterson in Sons of Anarchy (2013–2014). From 2014 until the show's conclusion in 2021, she portrayed medical examiner Dr. Loretta Wade on the police drama series NCIS: New Orleans. Pounder was also the voice of the recurring role of Kadma on W.I.T.C.H., as well as the voice of Amanda Waller in the animated show Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006), a role that she has reprised in later DC Comics media.
In film, she appeared in All That Jazz (1979), Go Tell It on the Mountain (1984), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Bagdad Cafe (1987), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990), Benny & Joon (1993), Demon Knight (1995), Face/Off (1997), End of Days (1999), Orphan (2009), Avatar (2009), The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).

## Early life

Pounder was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) on December 25, 1952. Her full name of Carol Christine Hilaria was given in honor of her grandmothers and godmothers. She was raised on a sugar plantation that her father Ronald Arlington Pounder managed. Her mother Betsy Enid Arnella (nee James) worked at the United States Embassy while the family lived in London, England. Pounder attended a Catholic boarding school in Sussex, England.
She matriculated at Hastings College of Arts and Technology where Pounder studied painting, but dropped out as a freshman after moving to the United States. Her family had already settled in New York while she was attending school. Pounder graduated from Ithaca College in 1975. Pounder stated her parents did not support her choice to be an actress, with her mother instead wanting Pounder to be a newscaster.

## Career

Pounder made her acting debut in the film All That Jazz (1979). She continued her 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. She starred in the film Bagdad Café, and has made smaller appearances in many other films.
She focused primarily on her television career. In the early 1980s, Pounder first appeared in guest roles on Hill Street Blues, and then on several shows (The Cosby Show, 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. She also 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 Justice League Unlimited as government agent Amanda Waller, which role she reprised for the animated film adaptation of the comic book Superman/Batman: Public Enemies as well as the video game Batman: Arkham Origins, its sequel Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, and another animated film that takes place in continuity with the games, Batman: Assault on Arkham.
Pounder was also one of the readers for the HBO film Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narrative (2003). She appeared on the Syfy series Warehouse 13 from 2009 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 had a recurring role as DA Thyne Patterson on the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy (2013–14). She co-starred in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013). In Disney's The Lion Guard she voices Kongwe, the wise old turtle.
In 1996, Pounder served as a guest judge for the 1996 Miss USA Pageant, in South Padre Island, Texas.

## 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 5,000 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."

## Acting credits

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | All That Jazz | Nurse Blake | |
| 1979 | Coriolanus | Valeria | Video |
| 1980 | Union City | Mrs. Lewis | |
| 1982 | I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can | Anne | |
| 1984 | Go Tell It on the Mountain | Deborah | |
| 1985 | Prizzi's Honor | 'Peaches' Altamont | |
| 1987 | Bagdad Cafe | Brenda | |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge | Julie Marsden | |
| 1992 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Miss Prism | |
| 1993 | Benny & Joon | Dr. Garvey | |
| 1993 | RoboCop 3 | Bertha | |
| 1993 | Sliver | Lieutenant Victoria Hendrix | |
| 1995 | Demon Knight | Irene | |
| 1996 | Aladdin and the King of Thieves | The Oracle | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 1997 | Face/Off | Hollis Miller | |
| 1998 | Melting Pot | Lucinda Davis | |
| 1998 | Blossoms and Veils | - | Short |
| 1999 | Funny Valentines | Ethel B. | |
| 1999 | The Big Day | Pearl | |
| 1999 | End of Days | Detective Marge Francis | |
| 2001 | Things Behind the Sun | Judge | |
| 2002 | Tét Grenné | Sally | |
| 2002 | Baby of the Family | Nurse Bloom | |
| 2003 | Unchained Memories | Reader | |
| 2008 | Rain | Ms. Adams | |
| 2008 | Breaking the Maya Code | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2009 | Orphan | Sister Abigail | |
| 2009 | Superman/Batman: Public Enemies | Amanda Waller | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2009 | Avatar | Mo'at | |
| 2010 | My Girlfriend's Back | Constance | |
| 2012 | Home Again | Dulsay Mooreland | |
| 2013 | The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones | Madame Dorothea | |
| 2014 | Batman: Assault on Arkham | Amanda Waller | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2019 | Godzilla: King of the Monsters | Senator Williams | |
| 2022 | Avatar: The Way of Water | Mo'at | |
| 2023 | Rustin | Anna Arnold Hedgeman | |
| 2025 | The Naked Gun † | | Post-production |
| 2025 | Avatar: Fire and Ash † | Mo'at | Post-production |
| 2029 | Avatar 4 † | Mo'at | Filming |
| 2031 | Avatar 5 † | Mo'at | Pre-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues | Jasmine | Episode: "The Second Oldest Profession" |
| 1982 | Hill Street Blues | Wilna Tucker | Episode: "Little Boil Blue" |
| 1984 | Booker | Jane | Television film |
| 1985 | American Playhouse | Deborah | Episode: "Go Tell It on the Mountain" |
| 1985 | The Atlanta Child Murders | Venus Taylor | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | If Tomorrow Comes | Ernestine Littlechap | Episode: "Episode #1.1" |
| 1986 | Resting Place | Ada Johnson | Television film |
| 1986 | As Summers Die | Priscilla | Television film |
| 1986 | Valerie | Mrs. Davis | Episode: "Full Moon" |
| 1986 | Cagney & Lacey | Timmons | Episode: "Disenfranchised" |
| 1986 | Hill Street Blues | Ms. Jones | Episode: "Amazing Grace" |
| 1986–92 | L.A. Law | Judge Roseann Robin | Recurring cast (season 1), guest (season 5-6) |
| 1987 | The Line | Anna Mae Demesy | Television film |
| 1987 | On the Edge | - | Television film |
| 1987–88 | Women in Prison | Dawn Murphy | Main cast |
| 1988 | Run Till You Fall | Janice | Television film |
| 1988 | Leap of Faith | Roberta | Television film |
| 1989 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Renee Cook | Episode: "My Past Is My Own" |
| 1989 | 227 | Lucinda Markle | Episode: "Babes in the Woods" |
| 1989 | Third Degree Burn | Julie Cartwright | Television film |
| 1989 | Miami Vice | Yvonne | Episode: "Too Much, Too Late" |
| 1989 | No Place Like Home | Prue | Television film |
| 1990 | Murder in Mississippi | Fannie Lee Chaney | Television film |
| 1990 | Common Ground | Rachel Twymon | Episode: "Part I & Part II" |
| 1990 | Quantum Leap | Mama Harper | Episode: "Black on White on Fire" |
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | Fran Ambrose | Television film |
| 1990 | Cop Rock | Willa Phelan | Recurring cast |
| 1991 | Lifestories | Roxanne Tevis | Episode: "Darryl Devis" |
| 1991 | True Colors | Judge Fallows | Episode: "Presumed Guilty" |
| 1992 | Home Improvement | Assistant | Episode: "What About Bob?" |
| 1992 | The Cosby Show | Clair's friend | Episode: "Clair's Reunion" |
| 1993 | The Ernest Green Story | Daisy Bates | Television film |
| 1993 | For Their Own Good | Naomi Brinker | Television film |
| 1993 | Lifepod | Mayvene | Television film |
| 1993 | The Disappearance of Christina | Detective Davis | Television film |
| 1993 | Return to Lonesome Dove | Sara Pickett | Main cast |
| 1993 | New Year | Eudora Kellogg | Television film |
| 1994 | Birdland | Nurse Lucy | Main cast |
| 1994 | South Central | Dr. LeBrock | Episode: "Co-op" |
| 1994 | Biker Mice from Mars | Stonecutter | Episode: "Stone Broke" |
| 1994 | The X-Files | Agent Lucy Kazdin | Episode: "Duane Barry" |
| 1994 | Robin's Hoods | Vivian Castro | Episode: "Unto Thyself Be True" |
| 1994–95 | Sweet Justice | Judge Addison | 2 episodes |
| 1994–97 | ER | Dr. Angela Hicks | Supporting cast (season 1-4) |
| 1995 | Zooman | Ash | Television film |
| 1995 | White Dwarf | Nurse Shabana | Television film |
| 1995 | Living Single | Nina Shaw | Episode: "Mommy Not Dearest" |
| 1995 | Jack Reed: One of Our Own | Mrs. Harris | Television film |
| 1995–96 | Gargoyles | Desdemona | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 1996 | All She Ever Wanted | Dr. Marilyn Tower | Television film |
| 1996 | If These Walls Could Talk | Nurse Mrs. Ford | Television film |
| 1996–98 | Millennium | Dr. Cheryl Andrews | Recurring cast |
| 1997 | Things That Go Bump | Harriet Napolean | Television film |
| 1997 | House of Frankenstein | Dr. Shauna Kendall | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Final Justice | Danielle Kline | Television film |
| 1998 | Little Girl Fly Away | Dr. Geddes | Television film |
| 1998 | Histeria! | Harriet Tubman | Voice, episode: "General Sherman's Campsite" |
| 1998 | Ghost Cop | Detective | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1999 | Batman Beyond | Anchorwoman | Voice, episode: "Rebirth" |
| 1999 | NetForce | FBI Director Sandra Knight | Television film |
| 1999 | Detention | Miss Powers | Voice, episode: "The Contest" |
| 1999 | A Touch of Hope | Lily Keyes | Television film |
| 1999–2000 | Rocket Power | Officer Shirley | Voice |
| 2000 | The West Wing | Deborah O'Leary | Episode: "Celestial Navigation" |
| 2000 | Rude Awakening | Stacey | Episode: "Plastered" |
| 2000 | The Outer Limits | Stranger | Episode: "Decompression" |
| 2000 | Cora Unashamed | Ma Jenkins | Television film |
| 2000 | Disappearing Acts | Mrs. Swift | Television film |
| 2000–01 | Static Shock | Mayor | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2001 | The Practice | Elaine Washington | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Crossing Jordan | Libby Bell | Episode: "Mortality" |
| 2001 | Boycott | Jo Ann Robinson | Television film |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | Libby Bell | Episode: "Mortality" |
| 2001 | The District | Eilen Carmicheal | Episode: "To Serve and Protect" |
| 2001–10 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Carolyn Maddox | Recurring cast |
| 2002 | For the People | Millie Towns | Episode: "To DNA or Not to DNA" |
| 2002–08 | The Shield | Claudette Wyms | Main cast |
| 2003 | Jackie Chan Adventures | Miss Kimber | Voice, episode: "The Shadow Eaters" |
| 2004 | Girlfriends | Dr. Myers | Episode: "Prophet & Loss" |
| 2004 | Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story | Winnie Mandela | Television film |
| 2004–06 | Justice League Unlimited | Amanda Waller | Voice, recurring role |
| 2005 | Numb3rs | Lieutenant Lee Havercamp | Episode: "Vector" |
| 2006 | W.I.T.C.H. | Queen Kadma | Voice, recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2007 | American Masters | Narrator | Voice, episode: "Novel Reflections: The American Dream" |
| 2008 | The Tower | Evie | Television film |
| 2009 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Mrs. Curtin | Episode: "The Boy with an African Heart" |
| 2009 | Brothers | Adele Trainor | Main cast |
| 2009–14 | Warehouse 13 | Mrs. Irene Frederic | Recurring cast |
| 2011 | Revenge | Warden Sharon Stiles | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Perception | FBI Psychiatrist | Episode: "Warrior" |
| 2013–14 | Sons of Anarchy | District Attorney Tyne Patterson | Recurring cast (season 6-7) |
| 2014 | NCIS | Dr. Loretta Wade | Episode: "Crescent City" |
| 2014 | Beware the Batman | Marion Grange | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2014–21 | NCIS: New Orleans | Dr. Loretta Wade | Main cast |
| 2015 | Archer | Claudette Kane | Voice, episode: "The Kanes" |
| 2018 | The Lion Guard | Kongwe | Voice, episode: "The Wisdom of Kongwe" |
| 2021 | The Good Fight | Vinetta Clark | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Full Circle | Savitri Mahabir | Miniseries |
| 2024 | 3 Body Problem | Secretary General Lilian Joseph | 2 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Playwright | Venue | Ref. |
| 1984 | Open Admissions | Mrs. Brewster | Shirley Lauro | Music Box Theatre, Broadway | |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role |
| 1997 | Fallout | Head Scribe Vree |
| 2003 | True Crime: Streets of LA | Chief Wanda Parks |
| 2013 | Batman: Arkham Origins | Amanda Waller |
| 2013 | Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate | Amanda Waller |
| 2014 | Skylanders: Trap Team | Golden Queen |
| 2016 | Skylanders: Imaginators | Golden Queen |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1995 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The X-Files | Nominated |
| 1996 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | ER | Nominated |
| 1997 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | ER | Nominated |
| 1997 | Audie Award | Inspirational/Spiritual | Grow Old Along with Me, the Best Is Yet to Be | Won |
| 1997 | Audie Award | Multi-Voiced Performance | Grow Old Along with Me, the Best Is Yet to Be | Nominated |
| 1997 | Grammy Award | Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album | Grow Old Along with Me, the Best Is Yet to Be | Nominated |
| 1998 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | ER | Nominated |
| 1998 | Audie Award | Multi-Voiced Performance | Women in the Material World | Won |
| 1998 | Audie Award | Nonfiction, Abridged | Women in the Material World | Won |
| 2002 | Black Reel Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Television Movie | Boycott | Nominated |
| 2002 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Nominated |
| 2003 | Satellite Award | Best Actress – Television Series Drama | The Shield | Won |
| 2003 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | The Shield | Nominated |
| 2004 | Satellite Award | Best Actress – Television Series Drama | The Shield | Won |
| 2004 | Black Reel Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Television Movie | Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story | Won |
| 2004 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | The Shield | Nominated |
| 2005 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | The Shield | Nominated |
| 2006 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | The Shield | Nominated |
| 2007 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | The Shield | Nominated |
| 2008 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | The Shield | Nominated |
| 2009 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | The Shield | Nominated |
| 2009 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Nominated |
| 2010 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Brothers | Nominated |
| 2010 | Audie Awards | Audiobook of the Year | Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales | Won |
| 2010 | Audie Awards | Multi-Voiced Performance | Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales | Won |
| 2017 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | NCIS: New Orleans | Nominated |
| 2019 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | NCIS: New Orleans | Nominated |