Most Beautiful Law & Order Characters

Most Beautiful Law & Order Characters

When Law & Order premiered a billion years ago in 1990, it was decidedly male-centric. The popularity of the show was that it first followed the detectives who cracked the cases, then the prosecutors who tried the cases. As time went on, the series and its spin-offs began to introduce a more inclusive cast.

When season 4 hit the airwaves, female characters officially joined the main cast. From then on, dominant, confident, and beautiful ladies have been filling the lineup card. Let’s take a look at the most beautiful of these Law & Order characters.

10. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson)

The first thing, and perhaps the only thing, you need to know about S. Epatha Merkerson’s portrayal of Anita Van Buren is that she held the record for being the longest-running character by episode count on the original Law & Order series. Then with the revival show, Sam Waterston finally passed her. In no way does this change the importance Van Buren meant to the series.

9. Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy)

Jill Hennessy arrived on the Law & Order scene during the series’ fourth season, lasting three seasons in total. Claire Kincaid was the Assistant District Attorney. Unfortunately, the beautiful Hennessy sealed her character’s fate when she stated publicly that she was afraid her character was being typecast as an uptight lawyer. So, what was meant to be a car accident that paralyzed her character turned into one that actually killed her character.

8. Elizabeth Olivet (Carolyn McCormick)

Carolyn McCormick has the distinction of being the first female cast member to have her name in the credits as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet. This was a big deal as NBC Studios was pushing the show to bring in more females to the male-heavy lineup. McCormick portrayed Dr. Olivet off and on for 18 years.

7. Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell)

When Jill Hennessy stepped out of the role as Assistant District Attorney, Carey Lowell’s Jamie Ross was her replacement. Not only did Lowell play Ross for five seasons of Law & Order, but she also crossed over to the short-lived spin-off, Law & Order: Trial by Jury. The latter series only lasted 13 episodes.

6. Casey Novak (Diane Neal)

Diane Neal has the distinction of being the only character female Assistant District Attorney to have finished five complete seasons in any of the Law & Order series. What is even more impressive is that her character of Casey Novak is the third longest-running Assistant District Attorney in the entire L&O franchise.

5. Connie Rubirosa (Alana de la Garza)

Alana de la Garza is one of the later arrivals to the Law & Order franchise. Her Connie Rubirosa arrived on the scene in season 17 of the series and also appeared on Law & Order: LA and Law & Order: SVU. Rubirosa was the second-chair assistant district attorney and also L&O’s last ADA before it was canceled.

4. Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March)

Stephanie March’s entire career as assistant district attorney Alexandra Cabot was with Law & Order: SVU. Although not truly a part of the Law & Order franchise, March did take her Cabot character over to the Dick Wolf-created series, Conviction. Although Conviction boasted a great cast that included Mach, Anson Mount, Eric Balfour, and J. August Richards, the series lasted only 13 episodes.

3. Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Röhm)

Elisabeth Röhm brought assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn to Law & Order at the start of season 12 as the replacement for Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon). A conversation Southerlyn had with Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson) during her final appearance was noteworthy as he was explaining to her why he was letting her go. After a brief pause, she asks him, “Is this because I am a lesbian?” It was the first time during Röhm’s entire run that her character’s sexuality was brought up.

2. Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon)

Carey Lowell replaced Jill Hennessey and Angie Harmon replaced Carey Lowell. Harmon performed double duty as Abbie Carmichael, first with Law & Order in season 9, then crossing over to SVU the following season while also continuing the same role on L&O. For the short time she was on the series (both), she was very popular.

1. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay)

Mariska Hargitay is the absolute backbone of Law & Order: SVU. She presents Olivia Benson as tough, yet empathetic, oftentimes finding herself becoming emotionally involved in the cases she works.

The daughter of Hollywood legend Jayne Mansfield, Hargitay has been the main cog in each of SVU’s 24 seasons, many times crossing over to Law & Order, Trial by Jury, and Organized Crime.