Post by Trublu on May 27, 2005 14:13:52 GMT -5
Smoke-free Diane Neal credits her Circle of Friends
Friday, May 06, 2005
On the NBC series "Law and Order: SVU," actress Diane Neal, who resides in a yet-to-be renovated brownstone in Downtown Jersey City with her fiancé, portrays the tough talking, gritty, take no prisoners assistant district attorney Casey Novak.
Off screen, however, that steely reserve fades a bit as she struggles to beat a habit that kills more than 178,000 women in the U.S. each year: smoking.
"I simply love to smoke," the tall and striking former model conceded to shoppers who paused to listen as Neal spoke Saturday at Bloomingdale's in New York City's midtown. "But you have to stop doing it or you stand a greater risk of dying. For me, quitting is my greatest personal accomplishment. The number of women who die every year because of it is just staggering."
Through a program called Circle of Friends, which calls for smokers to surround themselves with a cast of friends and loved ones to quit, Neal has been smoke-free for more than two years. Her appearance at Bloomingdale's lent star power to the group's effort to sign up participants for its scheduled run/walk June 11 in Central Park.
Neal distinctly recalls how she became a chain smoker who breezed through at least two packs of cigarettes a day.
"I was a teen model living in Japan," she says. "We would work, work, work and they wouldn't let us eat anything. The only thing they would allow was a long break to smoke."
Neal says she has tried "millions of times" in the past to quit smoking. She credits the main link in her Circle of Friends, fiancé and Irish model Marcus Fitzgerald, for helping her fend off nicotine fits.
The couple, who plan to marry in July in the Dominican Republic, moved to Jersey City because it offers more affordable living space than New York, where she used to live in a crumbling 300-square-foot apartment, Neal says.
"We wanted a bigger space," she says. "So we bought a whole building here. You can't get that in New York City. Now, this is our lovely home and I can't wait to get married and raise kids here. I really like Jersey City."
Born in Alexandria, Va., and raised in the Denver area, Neal is the youngest of three children. She graduated from high school early and moved to Hawaii to attend college. She was headed toward a career in medicine but abandoned it after making inroads on the modeling scene, which brought her to New York City.
In 1999, she quit modeling to study biblical archeology in Egypt and Israel "because I wanted to be Indiana Jones really badly," she told People magazine.
After studying at the well-regarded Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, Neal landed parts on the television series "Ed" and "Hack," and made her first appearance on "Law and Order" portraying a woman who raped a male stripper.
In 2003, the show's producers sought Neal out to play her current role of Casey Novak after actress Stephanie March left the show.
"It is truly the New York City dream job," Neal says. "Most actors want a steady job and that's exactly what this is."
Neal realizes she is one of the lucky ones.
"Anything in entertainment requires some luck," she says. "I have so many friends who are out of work but have master's degrees in acting. I mean, some of them are helping me work on fixing my brownstone."
Neal says her father, Chris Neal, a district attorney in Denver, gets a kick out of the fact that she's portraying an attorney and frequently passes along tips. Meanwhile, her mother, Colleen Neal, a math teacher, appreciates that she can check up on her daughter through the magic of television.
"She'll watch the show and call up and tell me things like, 'You look sick' or she'll ask, 'Are you eating anything?'," Neal says.
Some of her friends, Neal says, don't watch the show because they believe it gets too violent. Nonetheless, they do pop over sometimes to visit Neal and her fiancé in Jersey City.
"They come to see our place which has windows covered up with garbage bags. You know, basically living in squalor," Neal says. "Then, they see me driving a 1999 Ford Escort and ask, 'Are you really a star on television?' But that's my normal life, which for me is, like the best. When you think about it, all the other stuff really doesn't matter."
JEFF THEODORE can be reached at jtheodor@jjournal.com or at (201) 217-2598.
Friday, May 06, 2005
On the NBC series "Law and Order: SVU," actress Diane Neal, who resides in a yet-to-be renovated brownstone in Downtown Jersey City with her fiancé, portrays the tough talking, gritty, take no prisoners assistant district attorney Casey Novak.
Off screen, however, that steely reserve fades a bit as she struggles to beat a habit that kills more than 178,000 women in the U.S. each year: smoking.
"I simply love to smoke," the tall and striking former model conceded to shoppers who paused to listen as Neal spoke Saturday at Bloomingdale's in New York City's midtown. "But you have to stop doing it or you stand a greater risk of dying. For me, quitting is my greatest personal accomplishment. The number of women who die every year because of it is just staggering."
Through a program called Circle of Friends, which calls for smokers to surround themselves with a cast of friends and loved ones to quit, Neal has been smoke-free for more than two years. Her appearance at Bloomingdale's lent star power to the group's effort to sign up participants for its scheduled run/walk June 11 in Central Park.
Neal distinctly recalls how she became a chain smoker who breezed through at least two packs of cigarettes a day.
"I was a teen model living in Japan," she says. "We would work, work, work and they wouldn't let us eat anything. The only thing they would allow was a long break to smoke."
Neal says she has tried "millions of times" in the past to quit smoking. She credits the main link in her Circle of Friends, fiancé and Irish model Marcus Fitzgerald, for helping her fend off nicotine fits.
The couple, who plan to marry in July in the Dominican Republic, moved to Jersey City because it offers more affordable living space than New York, where she used to live in a crumbling 300-square-foot apartment, Neal says.
"We wanted a bigger space," she says. "So we bought a whole building here. You can't get that in New York City. Now, this is our lovely home and I can't wait to get married and raise kids here. I really like Jersey City."
Born in Alexandria, Va., and raised in the Denver area, Neal is the youngest of three children. She graduated from high school early and moved to Hawaii to attend college. She was headed toward a career in medicine but abandoned it after making inroads on the modeling scene, which brought her to New York City.
In 1999, she quit modeling to study biblical archeology in Egypt and Israel "because I wanted to be Indiana Jones really badly," she told People magazine.
After studying at the well-regarded Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, Neal landed parts on the television series "Ed" and "Hack," and made her first appearance on "Law and Order" portraying a woman who raped a male stripper.
In 2003, the show's producers sought Neal out to play her current role of Casey Novak after actress Stephanie March left the show.
"It is truly the New York City dream job," Neal says. "Most actors want a steady job and that's exactly what this is."
Neal realizes she is one of the lucky ones.
"Anything in entertainment requires some luck," she says. "I have so many friends who are out of work but have master's degrees in acting. I mean, some of them are helping me work on fixing my brownstone."
Neal says her father, Chris Neal, a district attorney in Denver, gets a kick out of the fact that she's portraying an attorney and frequently passes along tips. Meanwhile, her mother, Colleen Neal, a math teacher, appreciates that she can check up on her daughter through the magic of television.
"She'll watch the show and call up and tell me things like, 'You look sick' or she'll ask, 'Are you eating anything?'," Neal says.
Some of her friends, Neal says, don't watch the show because they believe it gets too violent. Nonetheless, they do pop over sometimes to visit Neal and her fiancé in Jersey City.
"They come to see our place which has windows covered up with garbage bags. You know, basically living in squalor," Neal says. "Then, they see me driving a 1999 Ford Escort and ask, 'Are you really a star on television?' But that's my normal life, which for me is, like the best. When you think about it, all the other stuff really doesn't matter."
JEFF THEODORE can be reached at jtheodor@jjournal.com or at (201) 217-2598.