Michelle Hurst

Michelle Hurst
(2018)
Born
Michelle Denise Hurst

(1942-06-01) June 1, 1942 (age 84)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationMidwood High School
Mount Holyoke College
OccupationActress
Years active[[]]

Michelle Denise Hurst (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. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1974.

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. This role earned Hurst, along with the main cast, a Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series. Hurst did not return to the show after the first season after she was seriously injured in a car accident in December 2013. Hurst was placed in a 16-day coma so doctors could perform surgeries close to her spine.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989Born on the Fourth of JulyReporter #2
1993 The Night We Never Met Leslie
1994AirheadsYvonne
1995SmokeAunt Em
1995Blue in the FaceStatistician
1996I Shot Andy WarholNedicks Manager
1997Office KillerKate
1998StepmomNurse
2001Just VisitingPawnshop Broker
2003In the CutTeacher
2004Poster BoyProfessor Silver
2006SherrybabyDorothy Washington
2008ChokeShapely Nurse
2010A Little HelpEileen
2010All Good ThingsNewscaster
2011I Don't Know How She Does ItNurse
2012Frances HaTheater Manager
2014Hard SellNurse Parker
2017PermissionDr. Bennett

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1995New York UndercoverMs. EllisEpisode: "Brotherhood"
1995New York NewsER NurseEpisode: "Welcome Back Cotter"
1996-2001Law & OrderVarious4 Episodes"
2000-2015Law & Order: Special Victims UnitVarious4 Episodes"
2000CosbyMs. SummersEpisode: "Thursday's Child"
2000Sex and the CityNurseEpisode: "Running with Scissors"
2002Law & Order: Criminal IntentAudreyEpisode: "The Pilgrim"
2003Life on the LineDr. MorganTelevision movie
2004Rescue MeCase WorkerEpisode: "Revenge"
2004Third WatchJudge Connie AllenEpisode: "Leap of Faith"
2009The Good WifeJudge Hester JamesEpisode: "Home"
2010Blue BloodsCouncilwoman CollinsEpisode: "Re-Do"
2012NYC 22Deputy Chief Rosalind AdamczykEpisode: "Samaritans"
2013Orange Is the New BlackMiss Claudette PelageMain Cast; 12 episodes
Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series
2014Broad CityMaryEpisode: "Destination Wedding"
2015Last Tango in HalifaxGinikaEpisode #3.4
2020Grand ArmyLead InterviewerEpisode: "Making Moves"
2020Chicago MedBeverly MacNealEpisode: "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.