Jennifer Esposito Guest Starring On ‘Law & Order: SVU’
Actress Jennifer Esposito has played an officer of the law on hit television shows like Blue Bloods and NCIS. Now, she’s joining the New York Police Department’s Special Victims Unit with a role on Law & Order: SVU.
TVLine confirmed the news with NBC and got the scoop on her character after longtime series regular Ice-T posted a video on social media on January 21 featuring the 45-year-old star.
Esposito is playing a sergeant from the vice squad, Phoebe Baker, who must team up with the staff of the SVU — including Ice-T’s character, Fin — to investigate several pop-up brothels in New York City. It has also been revealed that Baker and Fin have a history — they were in the narcotics division together about 20 years ago.
In the 44-second video the 60-year-old rapper posted on Twitter, Ice-T and Esposito are huddled close together on the streets of NYC to keep warm in the seven-degree freeze. They are both wearing NYPD blue-colored wool hats, and viewers can hear fierce winds blowing in the background.
“People think that we’re in fake cold,” Ice-T says to the camera.
“Not fake cold. I’m stuck to your freaking jacket,” explains Esposito, whose face is on Ice’s shoulder.
He then turns the camera around to show some of the bundled-up crew members on set. One of the men had icicles on his mustache.
“This is how we shoot,” Fin’s portrayer tells his 1.1 million followers, showing them that being an actor is not always easy.
Esposito re-tweeted the post and said that, despite the cold, she “still love[s] working in NYC” with Ice-T.
Diehard Law & Order: SVU fans may recall that the actress had a role on the show in Season 1 in 2000. She played Sara Logan in the episode titled “Remorse.” However, there is no relation between that character and the one she is playing in 2019’s Season 20.
The New York City native, who grew up in Staten Island, also appeared on the original Law & Order series twice. Her 1996 role, Gina Tucci, was actually one of her first ever on TV. She then appeared in a 2006 episode as Justine Bailey.
On location NYC 7 degrees #SVU @JennifersWayJE Kinda COLD… pic.twitter.com/awgirR8CAX
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) January 21, 2019
The Italian beauty has been working in television and movies since the middle of the 1990s. Her first regular series role was playing Michael J. Fox’s secretary on ABC’s Spin City from 1997 to 1999. She also was part of the cast of programs such as Judging Amy, Rescue Me, Samantha Who?, Blue Bloods, Mistresses, The Affair, and NCIS.
On the silver screen, Esposito has appeared in 1998’s I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and No Looking Back, 1999’s Summer of Sam, and 2004’s Crash and Taxi.
She suffers from celiac disease and previously owned the gluten-free Jennifer’s Way Bakery in New York City.
Esposito’s episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will air on Thursday, February 14, at 10 p.m. on NBC.
