Michelle Hurst

Michelle Hurst
(2018)
Born
Michelle Denise Hurst

(1942-06-01) June 1, 1942
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationMidwood High School
Mount Holyoke College
OccupationActress
Years active[[]]

Michelle Denise Hurst[1][2] (born June 1, 1942) is an American actress. She played Miss Claudette Pelage in the first season of the streaming television series Orange Is the New Black.

Life and career

Born in Brooklyn on June 1, 1942, Hurst grew up in Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights and attended Midwood High School.[3][4] She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1974.[5]

Hurst began her career in theatre, and in the 1990s began appearing in television and film. Hurst is known for her multiple roles in various Law & Order television shows. She co-starred in films like Airheads, Smoke, Stepmom and Sherrybaby.

Hurst starred as Miss Claudette Pelage in the first season of the Netflix comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black in 2013.[6] This role earned Hurst, along with the main cast, a Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series. She left the show after a single season.

On Christmas of 2013, she was seriously injured in a car accident.[7] Hurst was placed in a 16-day coma so doctors could perform surgeries close to her spine.[8][9]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Born on the Fourth of July Reporter #2
1993 The Night We Never Met Leslie
1994 Airheads Yvonne
1995 Smoke Aunt Em
1995 Blue in the Face Statistician
1996 I Shot Andy Warhol Nedicks Manager
1997 Office Killer Kate
1998 Stepmom Nurse
2001 Just Visiting Pawnshop Broker
2003 In the Cut Teacher
2004 Poster Boy Professor Silver
2006 Sherrybaby Dorothy Washington
2008 Choke Shapely Nurse
2010 A Little Help Eileen
2010 All Good Things Newscaster
2011 I Don't Know How She Does It Nurse
2012 Frances Ha Theater Manager
2014 Hard Sell Nurse Parker
2017 Permission Dr. Bennett

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1995 New York Undercover Ms. Ellis Episode: "Brotherhood"
1995 New York News ER Nurse Episode: "Welcome Back Cotter"
1996-2001 Law & Order Various 4 Episodes"
2000-2015 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Various 4 Episodes"
2000 Cosby Ms. Summers Episode: "Thursday's Child"
2000 Sex and the City Nurse Episode: "Running with Scissors"
2002 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Audrey Episode: "The Pilgrim"
2003 Life on the Line Dr. Morgan Television movie
2004 Rescue Me Case Worker Episode: "Revenge"
2004 Third Watch Judge Connie Allen Episode: "Leap of Faith"
2009 The Good Wife Judge Hester James Episode: "Home"
2010 Blue Bloods Councilwoman Collins Episode: "Re-Do"
2012 NYC 22 Deputy Chief Rosalind Adamczyk Episode: "Samaritans"
2013 Orange Is the New Black Miss Claudette Pelage Main Cast; 12 episodes
Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series
2014 Broad City Mary Episode: "Destination Wedding"
2015 Last Tango in Halifax Ginika Episode #3.4
2020 Grand Army Lead Interviewer Episode: "Making Moves"
2020 Chicago Med Beverly MacNeal Episode: "When Did We Begin to Change?"

References

  1. ^ C., C. (March 18, 1974). "Lively, Entertaining Comedy At Mount Holyoke". Transcript-Telegram. p.  28. Retrieved March 12, 2026. "The tight discipline and intense preparation for which the Mt. Holyoke actors and actresses are so well known, allows a subtle but dramatic contrast between the soft motherliness of Nell played by Jane Harsha and the pushy womanliness of Mistress Merrithought, played by the much-admired Michelle Denise Hurst: Each woman's style was controlled in such a way that their carriages, especially the contested centers of gravity, their gestures, their styles of speech and tones of voice provided opposed totalities which were a joy to watch."
  2. ^ "Awards Luncheon Attracts Over 1500". New York Amsterdam News. November 2, 1968. p. 28. ProQuest 226673213. Following presentation of the Misses Veronica Eugenia Hunter, Gail Regina Stanley, Marsha Jones, Ruth Gordon, Michelle Denise Hurst, Angela Lyon, Brenda Wyche, Stephanie Brown, Sanfordene Laverne Walker, and Sandra Jones, the Miss Alpha Crown of 1968 passed from Miss Rosemary Glenn to Miss Jones, the 1969 queen.
  3. ^ "British Derwents Go to Thompson, Haygarth". Back Stage. April 26, 1996. p. 39. ProQuest 963049115. American mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby and Brooklyn-born actress Michelle Hurst have been honored with the 1996 Martin E. Segal Awards. Each recipient receives $4,000 to be used toward further study and career advancement.
  4. ^ Ring, Deborah A.; Jacques, Derek; Kepos, Paula (2017). Contemporary Black Biography: Profiles from the International Black Community. : Gale Research. Pacific pp. 60–61. ISBN 9781410312044.
  5. ^ "Forum Focuses on Black Women in the Media March 5–6". Mount Holyoke College. February 27, 2004. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. actress Michelle Hurst '74
  6. ^ "Watch Danielle Brooks, Laverne Cox, Uzo Aduba, Dascha Polanco, Vicky Jeudy In 4 'Orange Is the New Black' Clips|Shadow and Act". Blogs.indiewire.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  7. ^ "'Orange is the New Black' Actress Seriously Injured, Stars Ask for Donations". Variety. January 16, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  8. ^ "'Orange Is the New Black' Star Michelle Hurst - Seriously Injured in Car Accident, Placed in Medically-Induced Coma". TMZ.com. January 16, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  9. ^ "Orange Is the New Black's Michelle Hurst Wakes Up From Coma After Car Accident | E! Online UK". Eonline.com. January 16, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.