Biography
Michelle Hurst is an American actress. She played Miss Claudette Pelage in the first season of the series Orange Is the New Black (2013).
She graduated from Mount Holyoke College and began her career in theatre before appearing in film and television from the 1990s. Hurst has taken multiple roles in the Law & Order franchise and appeared in films including Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Stepmom (1998), Frances Ha (2012) and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020).
Her work on Orange Is the New Black earned her a Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series. She did not return to the series after the first season following a serious car accident in December 2013.
