Diane Neal was born in Alexandria, Virginia. She moved to Colorado when her father was promoted to the position of federal attorney in Denver. She is the youngest of three daughters. Diane was a pre-med major in University, before leaving to pursue modeling, thus allowing her to travel the world.



She has studied acting in a six-week acting course at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in New York. When not working, she enjoys playing basketball and softball. Before becoming A.D.A. Casey Novak on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999), she had appeared on Season 3 Episode 10 ("Ridicule") of SVU, as a woman who had gang raped a male stripper with her female friends. Studied archaeology in Egypt and Israel for three weeks in 1999 after quiting modeling. The youngest of three daughters, Leigh, Erin and Diane. Her older sister has all her degrees in Theater.