Joanna Merlin was an actress who had a successful Hollywood career. Merlin's early acting career consisted of roles in various films, such as "The Ten Commandments" (1956), the Roy Scheider adaptation "All That Jazz" (1979) and the Irene Cara dramatic musical "Fame" (1980). She also appeared in the Saul Rubinek comedy "Soup For One" (1982), "Love Child" (1982) and the Rosanna Arquette dramedy "Baby It's You" (1983). She continued to work steadily in film throughout the eighties and the nineties, appearing in the horror flick "Prince of Darkness" (1987) with Donald Pleasence, the dramatic comedy "Mystic Pizza" (1988) with Julia Roberts and "Class Action" (1991) with Gene Hackman. Recently, she tackled roles in "Two Bits" (1995) with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, "Murder and Murder" (1997) and the dramatic adaptation "City of Angels" (1998) with Nicolas Cage. She also appeared in "The Invasion" (2007). Most recently, Merlin acted in the dramatic adaptation "Sarah's Key" (2011) with Kristin Scott Thomas.