Diane Neal

To devotees of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ), Diane Neal will forever be known as Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak, a role that she played for more than 100 episodes of the long-running procedural drama. Raised in Colorado, Neal pursued figure skating and modeling in her youth, but eventually tried her hand at acting. One of her earliest screen parts was as a suspect on a 2001 episode of "Law & Order: SVU," and she joined the cast as Novak two years later. Featured regularly on the show, Neal departed in 2008 and returned as Novak in 2011, pleasing many ardent fans of the series. Only occasionally appearing outside of "SVU," Neal has primarily worked on television, and played to her crime-drama strengths by taking on the role of a Coast Guard special agent in 2010 as a recurring character on "NCIS" (CBS, 2003- ).

Growing up in Colorado, Neal brought her extroverted tendencies to performing as an ice skater and later a model. Moving on to screen acting, she initially had luck in being cast on an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," portraying a woman involved in the gang rape of a man. Apparently impressing the producers with her guest spot, Neal signed on as regular character Casey Novak in 2003. While in the midst of her initial stint on the show, she infrequently moonlighted in other productions, notably appearing in the straight-to-video horror sequels "Dracula II: Ascension" (2003) and "Dracula III: Legacy" (2005). Featured as Novak, a by-the-book redheaded lawyer, for years, Neal left the series in 2008 and resurfaced as special agent Abigail Borin on an equally popular show, "NCIS." Her 2011 return to "Law & Order: SVU" meant that she had to juggle her two best-known characters, but her second stint on the NYC-set program didn't last long, leaving her to focus on "NCIS," as well as a recurring spot on the legal drama "Suits" (USA Network, 2011- ).