Merle Dandridge was born in Japan to a Korean mother and African American father, then raised in Nebraska and schooled in Chicago at Roosevelt University. Dandridge has made an indelible mark on both stage and screen. Most recently, she reprised her role of Marlene, leader of the fireflies in the HBO adaptation of "The Last of Us", based on Naughty Dog's video game of the same name. She can also currently be seen as Chief Ross in ABC's "Station 19," and as Zarina Killebrew in Apple TV 's "Truth Be Told". Merle starred as Grace Greenleaf in Oprah Winfrey's hit series "Greenleaf" which ran for five seasons. Other television includes HBO's "The Flight Attendant", FX's "Sons of Anarchy," CW's "Starcrossed," and NBC's "The Night Shift."

In the video game space, she is known for Naughty Dog's "The Last of Us" and "The Last of Us Part II" as Marlene, the leader of Fireflies, Evelyn and the Nun in "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End," Legion Commander and Winter Wyvern in "Dota 2," Alyx Vance in "Half-Life 2," and Katherine Collins in "Everybody's Gone To The Rapture" for which she won the 2016 BAFTA for "Best Performer."