Diane Neal

Diane Neal was born in 1976 in Alexandria

Neal was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the youngest of three daughters. Her mother, Colleen, was a math teacher of Jewish descent, and her father, Christopher, was a federal attorney. She grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and in Ohio.

After high school she went to college in Hawaii but left to work as a model and travel. She modeled in skin-care ads for Shiseido and Pond's. In 2009 she began studying at Harvard University's Extension School and graduated in May 2018.

Neal first appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a guest star, then played Casey Novak from the fifth season through the ninth. She returned to the role in 2011 and stayed as a recurring character in Season 13. She also played agent Abigail Borin in the NCIS franchise and starred in the 2021 film Circle of Deception.

In 2013 a car crash fractured her spine, and her long recovery put her acting on hold. In 2018 she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 19th district as an independent and received 1% of the vote. In 2022 she announced a comedy and talk podcast.

Neal married Marcus Fitzgerald in 2005, and they divorced in 2014. In 2023 she moved to Israel and became an Israeli citizen.