Diane Neal

Diane Neal, born November 17, 1976, is an American-Israeli actress and former model. She is best known for her portrayal of New York Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak in the television drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2003 to 2012. She is also recognized for playing Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) Special Agent Abigail Borin across the NCIS franchise.

Neal was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Colleen Neal, a math teacher or professor of Jewish descent, and Christopher "Chris" Neal, a federal attorney of Irish descent. The youngest of three daughters, she was raised alongside her older sisters, Leigh and Erin, in Littleton, Arapahoe County, Colorado, as well as in Ohio. After graduating from Littleton's Heritage High School, she moved to Hawaii to attend college, but left school to pursue modeling and travel. She began modeling for Shiseido and Pond's skin-care advertisements. Neal later resumed her education at Harvard University's Extension School in 2009, graduating with an associate degree in May 2018.

Neal first appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a guest star in the Season 3 episode "Ridicule," playing a rapist. She returned to the series in its fifth season as Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak, replacing Stephanie March's character, Alexandra Cabot. Neal portrayed Novak through the end of Season 9, when the character exited after being censured by the New York State Bar.

In 2011, Neal reprised her role as Novak in the Season 12 episode "Reparations," returning to SVU as a temporary ADA before becoming a recurring character in Season 13. Her character was last seen in the episode "Valentine's Day." Neal noted that her return brought familiarity to the show following major cast departures. In 2021, Neal starred as Peggy Sue Thomas in the Lifetime television movie Circle of Deception.

Beyond her acting career, Neal announced on February 6, 2018, that she would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 19th congressional district as an independent candidate. Describing her political views as a combination of libertarian, liberal, and progressive positions, she ultimately finished with one percent of the vote. She noted that a long recuperation period following a 2013 car crash, in which she fractured her spine, had previously required her to place her acting career on hold.

In her personal life, Neal married former model and engineer Marcus O. Fitzgerald on July 9, 2005, in the Dominican Republic, and the couple divorced in 2014. She later was in a relationship with magician JB Benn, which ended in legal disputes; in November 2019, Neal filed a lawsuit against Benn making allegations including physical and sexual abuse, fraud, and identity theft. On January 14, 2022, Neal announced she would host a comedy and talk podcast titled "Hear Say with Diane Neal." In 2023, she relocated to Israel and became an Israeli citizen.