Diane Neal is best known for her role on "Law and Order: SVU." She first appeared on the show in 2001 as a murderous villain in one of her very first acting jobs. Neal then reappeared, in classic "Law and Order" style, as the justice-driven ADA Casey Novak from 2003-2012. Since 2009 she has also recurred as Gibbs’ doppelganger, CGIS Special Agent Abigail Borin, on "NCIS" and for two seasons as Alison Holt on "Suits." Neal has also guest starred on a wide variety of other hit shows from "White Collar" to "30 Rock" and has appeared in numerous films and television movies.
With over a decade of playing tough-as-nails good guys and bad guys, it comes as a surprise to many fans that Neal is also a stand up comic. Although difficult to book consistently while filming, for years she has made audiences laugh all over New York City and Los Angeles. She can routinely be seen at Stand Up New York, her home club, and Upright Citizen’s Brigade Los Angeles. She also enjoys appearing in the hip and hysterical storytelling show Don’t Tell My Mother produced by Nikki Levy.
Neal was born in Alexandria, Virginia, moved to Littleton, Colorado at age eight, then to Oahu, Hawaii for college another eight years later. Thanks to her older sister, she started modeling and was fortunate enough to live and work in myriad countries in Asia and Europe. Neal landed in New York City, the city she still calls home and serendipitously found herself at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in 1999.
A life-long learner, Neal is very proud to currently be an undergraduate student at Harvard University. Her areas of interest include everything from Classical Archaeology to Neuroscience and Biology. Previous to Harvard, Neal has taken classes as wide-ranging as “Predators of the Outback” handling dangerous wildlife in Australia at Uluru and the often handy “Coconut Opening 101” in the Caribbean.
Neal whole-heartedly believes in philanthropy and is on the artistic board and is a full participant in the Urban Arts Partnership under the tutelage of fellow actor Rosie Perez, as well as actively working with the Thirst Project, the RFK Center for Human Rights, Water Keeper and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to name a few.
