Who Plays Assistant District Attorney Jamie Ross in the OG 'Law & Order'?
Published Feb. 25 2022, 9:19 p.m. ET
We're living in an era of reboots and revivals. Some are warranted (And Just Like That...), others not so much (MADtv). Though we can go on and on about this topic until we're blue in the face, let's discuss the return of the original Law & Order. Created by TV god Dick Wolf, the series that opened the doors for the rest of the Law & Order universe back in 1990 has come back to grace our small screens after 12 years off the air. Having premiered on Feb. 24, 2022, Season 21 sees Rick Eid as its executive producer and showrunner.
Along with newcomer characters Lieutenant Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim), Detective Frank Cosgrove (Jeffrey Donovan), ADA Samantha Maroun (Odelya Halevi), and ADA Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy), a few OG characters are included in Law & Order's main cast. District Attorney Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Detective Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson) return to investigate crime in New York City's underbelly.
While the other characters were confirmed to be in the revival, it was a familiar surprise to see former Defense Attorney-turned-Assistant District Attorney Jamie Ross in the premiere episode. So, who plays the fierce, no-nonsense attorney?
Which actress plays Jamie Ross in 'Law & Order'?
Not only did actress Carey Lowell play Jamie Ross in the original Law & Order series from 1996 to 1998 — first appearing in the episode titled "Causa Mortis" — but she also portrayed the tough cookie character in the spinoff series Law & Order: Trial By Jury. Sadly, it was a one-season flop. Actresses Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), Angie Harmon (Rizzoli and Isles), and Elizabeth Röhm (American Hustle) have all played the ADA in past seasons of Law & Order.
Carey starred in a whopping 52 episodes of Law & Order. Of her arrival on the show in 1996, executive producer Dick Wolf said, "She brings adult beauty, intelligence, and sex appeal.” Let's just focus on her brains, Dick!
At the time, Sam Waterston said that Carey Lowell's Jamie Ross "hasn’t caused so much as a hiccup in the rhythm of the show."
Where else have we seen Carey Lowell?
Though the Law & Order universe adores Carey Lowell, her career also spans several decades in film. In fact, Carey's a Bond girl! In 1989's Licence to Kill — which saw Timothy Dalton as Special Agent 007 — Carey portrayed former U.S. army pilot and CIA informer Pam Bouvier. Not to be crass, but she was a bonafide sexpot.
Among the many roles she nabbed from the mid-'80s into the 2000s, Carey was featured in 1993's beloved romcom Sleepless in Seattle, 1997's comedy Fierce Creatures, and starred as Dottie Hinson in the short-lived 1993 sitcom A League of Their Own.
As for her personal life, Carey has been married and divorced three times. Her most public relationship was with Richard Gere, to whom she was married from 2002 to 2013. She has two children, one with Gere and another from her previous marriage to Griffin Dunne.
Daughter Hannah Dunne has followed in her mother's acting footsteps. She's best known for portraying Lizzie Campbell in Prime Video's Mozart in the Jungle.
Catch new episodes of Law & Order Season 21 when they air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.
