Denise Nicholas is an American actress and writer, best known as Liz McIntyre on ABC’s Room 222 and Harriet DeLong Gillespie on NBC’s In the Heat of the Night. Other television credits include Lila James on FOX’s Living Single, Maura Belloque/Jenny Brooks on ABC’s The Love Boat, and Ethel on ABC’s N.Y.P.D.

Film credits include Let's Do It Again, The Rockford Files: Shoot-Out at the Golden Pagoda, Ghost Dad, And the Children Shall Lead, The Sophisticated Gents, Ring of Passion, A Piece of the Action, and Five Desperate Women.

Theatre credits include Off-Broadway, as the Young Girl in Ceremonies in Dark Old Men (Pocket Theatre) and Lena in Daddy Goodness and Praise Singer/Dancer in Kongi’s Harvest (St. Mark’s Playhouse); and regionally, as Suzanne Alexander in The Ohio State Murders (American Repertory), Panzi Lew McVain in Long Time Since Yesterday (New Federal Theatre), and Angela in Dame Lorraine (Los Angeles Actors Theatre).