Aside from the occasional school musical, Merrin didn’t really start acting until she was 18 years old and hosted a local teen talk show. That opportunity lead to several commercials, but she put everything on hold when she was accepted to UCLA.

When she was a sophomore, Merrin became the youngest person to ever win the UCLA School of Theater’s top acting prize at their Annual Acting Awards ceremony.

After graduation, she continued to hone her skills, studying with Milton Katselas, who helped her develop her one-woman show, "Black Like Who?," for the HBO Comedy Workspace.

Due to the overwhelming success of that show, Merrin signed with the William Morris Agency. Since then, she has guest starred on numerous television series, including "Friends," "Seinfeld," "Murphy Brown," "City of Angels" and "ER"; and had recurring roles on "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The King of Queens." As a stand-up comic, she has performed in the Montreal Comedy Festival and on "Premium Blend" for Comedy Central. She also appeared in the film, "EdTV," directed by Ron Howard.

Merrin resides in Los Angeles.