Pounder has been working successfully in film, television and theatre for almost three decades, often cast as tough but ultimately good-hearted authority figures. A memorable actress with a distinctive voice, she's perhaps best-known for her role as Claudette Wyms on The Shield and is considered by most to be the definitive Amanda Waller in the DC Animated Universe.
She's also led an interesting life, having been born on Christmas Day 1952 in Guyana and raised on a sugar cane plantation. Her parents moved to the States while she was still a young girl, but she and her sister were sent to a convent boarding school in Britain where they were introduced to art and the classics. Following high school graduation, she arrived in New York and studied at Ithaca College, where her acting talents were discovered. Regional and classical repertory theater followed, earning roles in such productions as "The Mighty Gents" with Morgan Freeman at the New York Shakespeare Festival and "Open Admissions," her Broadway debut. Her preference for a warmer climate led to her move to Hollywood in the late 1970s. Her breakout film was Bagdad Cafe, a quirky comedy set in a remote desert town.
As Amanda Waller
- 2001–2006 Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
- 2009 Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
- 2013 Batman: Arkham Origins
- 2013 Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
- 2014 Batman: Assault on Arkham
Film Roles
- 1979 Coriolanus as Valeria
- 1979 All That Jazz as Nurse Blake
- 1987 Bagdad Cafe as Brenda
- 1990 Postcards from the Edge as Julie Marsden
- 1993 Benny & Joon as Dr. Garvey
- 1993 RoboCop 3 as Bertha
- 1995 Demon Knight as Irene
- 1996 Aladdin and the King of Thieves as The Oracle
- 1997 Face/Off as Hollis Miller
- 1999 End of Days as Detective Marge Francis
- 1999 The Cell
- 2009 Orphan as Sister Abigail
- 2009 Avatar as Mo'at
- 2013 The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones as Madame Dorothea
- 2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters
- 2023 Rustin as Dr. Anna Hedgeman
Television Roles
- 1981-1986 Hill Street Blues as Jasmine/Wilna Tucker/Ms. Jones
- 1986 Cagney & Lacey as Timmons
- 1986–1992 L.A. Law as Judge Roseann Robin
- 1989 227 as Lucinda Markle
- 1989 Miami Vice as Yvonne
- 1990 Quantum Leap as Mama Harper
- 1990 Cop Rock as Willa Phelan
- 1992 The Cosby Show as Clair's Friend
- 1994 The X-Files as Agent Lucy Hicks
- 1994–1997 ER as Dr. Angela Hicks
- 1995 Living Single as Nina Shaw
- 1995-1996 Gargoyles as Desdemona/Coldfire
- 1996–1998 Millennium (1996) as Cheryl Andrews
- 1999 Batman Beyond as Anchor Woman/Passenger
- 2000 The West Wing as Deborah O'Leary
- 2000 The Outer Limits (1995) as Stranger
- 2001 The Practice as Elaine Washington
- 2001–2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Defense Attorney Carolyn Maddox
- 2002–2008 The Shield as Claudette Wyms
- 2005 NUMB3RS as Lt. Havercamp
- 2006 W.I.T.C.H. as Queen Kadma
- 2009 Brothers as Adele Trainor
- 2009–2014 Warehouse 13 as Mrs. Irene Frederic
- 2011 Revenge as Warden Sharon Stiles
- 2013-2014 Sons of Anarchy as Tyne Patterson
- 2013-2014 Beware the Batman as Marion Grange
- 2014 NCIS as Dr. Loretta Wade
- 2014-present NCIS: New Orleans as Dr. Loretta Wade
- 2018-present The Lion Guard as Kongwe
Videogame Roles
- 2004 True Crime as Chief Wanda Parks
- 2014 Skylanders as the Golden Queen (darrined by Susan Sarandon for Skylanders Academy)
