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Diane Neal
Neal at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Television Festival
Born	(1976-11-17) November 17, 1976 (age 48) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Citizenship	Israel United States
Education	Harvard Extension School
Occupations	Actress podcast host
Years active	2001–present
Notable credits	Casey Novak on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Abigail Borin on NCIS
Spouse	Marcus O. Fitzgerald ​ ​(m. 2005; div. 2014)​

Diane Neal (born November 17, 1976) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying New York Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak in the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2003 to 2012. She is also known for portraying Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) Special Agent Abigail Borin in the NCIS franchise.

Early life

Neal was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the youngest of three daughters to Colleen Neal, a math teacher of Jewish descent, and Christopher Neal, a federal attorney. She was raised in Littleton, Arapahoe County, Colorado, and Ohio. After Neal graduated from Littleton's Heritage High School, she moved to Hawaii to attend college, but later left school to become a model and travel. Neal started modeling for Shiseido and Pond's skin-care ads. After deciding to resume her education, Neal began attending Harvard University's Extension School in 2009, and graduated with an associate degree in May 2018.

Career

Acting

Neal first appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a guest star, playing a rapist in the Season 3 episode "Ridicule". Neal first appeared as Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak in the show's fifth season, replacing Stephanie March, who played Alexandra Cabot.

Neal portrayed Novak through the end of Season 9, when the character exited the series after being censured by the New York State Bar. In 2011, Neal reprised her role as Novak in the Season 12 episode "Reparations", when Novak returned to SVU as their temporary ADA. After that appearance, she became a recurring character in Season 13. She was last seen in the episode "Valentine's Day". Neal said of her return to the series in Season 13 to TV Guide, "It's back on track to what the original SVU was intended to be, which is about sex crimes and crimes against children, it's got more of a nitty-gritty feel." She says that March's and her return to the fictional universe of the series provided a familiarity for viewers following original cast member Chris Meloni's departure. "I think they should put us in the court room together!" she says about March.

In 2021, Neal starred as Peggy Sue Thomas in the Lifetime movie Circle of Deception.

Congressional run

On February 6, 2018, Neal announced that she would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 19th congressional district as an independent. She described her political views as "a little libertarian, I'm a lot liberal, mostly progressive, but I have this amazing ability to be able to take really complicated policy and break it down into edible sound bites, which is something most progressive liberals cannot do." Neal finished with 1% of the vote.

Podcast

On January 14, 2022, Neal announced that she would be the host of a new comedy and talk podcast named "Hear Say with Diane Neal". The podcast is intended to "amuse and enlighten".

Personal life

In 2005, Neal married Irish model Marcus O. Fitzgerald in a ceremony in the Dominican Republic. Neal and Fitzgerald divorced in 2014.

Neal was later involved in a relationship with magician JB Benn. It ended acrimoniously, and in November 2019, Neal became the plaintiff in a lawsuit in which she made allegations against Benn including fraud and identity theft, and she claimed Benn had subjected her to physical and sexual abuse.

In 2013, Neal was involved in a car accident which fractured her spine. In announcing her 2018 Congressional candidacy, Neal indicated that the long recuperation from her injuries had caused her to place her acting career on hold.

In 2023, after experiencing anti-Semitism in America, Neal moved to Israel and became an Israeli citizen.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ "Big D". DianeNeal.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. ^ "Law & Order actress Diane Neal made aliyah after being victim of 'unpleasant' antisemitism in US". The Jewish Chronicle. June 14, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
3. @DianeNeal (February 2, 2014). "I'm from Littleton, Colorado..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
4. ' "Law & Order: SVUs Diane Neal". People. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
5. Kemble, William J. (February 5, 2018). "Actress Diane Neal, a Hurley resident, launches independent bid for 19th Congressional District seat". The Daily Freeman. Kingston, NY. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018.
6. Walsh, Colleen (May 22, 2018). "Diane Neal moves from 'Law & Order' to take aim at making laws in Congress". The Harvard Gazette. Cambridge, MA.
7. Ross, Robyn (August 9, 2011). "VIDEO: Law & Order: SVU's Diane Neal Says Season 13 Has a Nitty-Gritty Feel". TV Guide. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
8. Mlnarik, Carson (March 4, 2021). "The One Circle Of Deception Scene That Made Diane Neal Uncomfortable - Exclusive". NickiSwift.com.
9. ^ Costantino, George (7 February 2018). "'Law & Order: SVU' star Diane Neal running for Congress in NY". ABC News. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
10. "New York's 19th Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia.org. Middleton, Wisconsin: Lucy Burns Institute. November 7, 2018.
11. Neal, Diane (22 January 2022). "'Hear Say with Diane Neal' Announcement". Twitter. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
12. Candelaria, Daniel (22 January 2022). "Introducing Hear Say, with Diane Neal". Westbury Media. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
13. "Law & Order Star Diane Neal Marries". People. New York City: Time, Inc. July 14, 2005.
14. Lim, Gene Paul (September 3, 2019). "The Female Stars of NCIS". Herald Weekly. Ramat Hasharon, Israel.
15. ^ Hitt, Tarpley; Briquelet, Kate (November 16, 2019). "'Law & Order SVU' Actress Threatens Ex on Leaked Tape". The Daily Beast.
16. Esch, Mary (May 2, 2018). "Law and Order' actress Diane Neal seeks House seat". APNews.com.
17. Swissa, Eran (March 29, 2023). "Law & Order's Diane Neal makes aliyah". Israel Hayom.
18. Swissa, Eran (March 29, 2023). "Law & Order's Diane Neal makes aliyah". Israel Hayom.

External links

• Diane Neal at IMDb

• 1976 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American actresses
• American female models
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• Actresses from Colorado
• Actresses from Alexandria, Virginia
• Jewish American actresses
• People from Littleton, Colorado
• American actor-politicians
• New York (state) independents
• Harvard Extension School alumni
• Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections