Who Is 'Law and Order' Star Kelli Giddish? 5 Things to Know

Case closed. Kelli Giddish shocked Law and Order: SVU fans when she announced she will be exiting the series during season 24, which premieres on September 22.

“I wanted to address the chatter I’ve seen online and let everyone know that this will, indeed, be my last season on Law and Order: SVU,” the All My Children alum wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, August 24.

She continued, “Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of the Law and Order family for the last 12 years. There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins. She’s grown and changed, and I have as well. I started on this show when I was in my late 20s and I’m grateful I got to spend so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life.”

Giddish, 42, joined the main cast of the crime drama for season 13 in 2011 after previously appearing as a victim in a 2007 episode of season 8. In her departure announcement, she thanked the series creator, Dick Wolf, former showrunner Warren Leight, executive producer Peter Jankowski and her SVU costar Mariska Hargitay.

“I’m so excited to take all the things I have learned in my time on SVU and put them toward everything that’s next to come,” the Past Life actress wrote.

David Graziano, the popular series’ new showrunner, encouraged fans who are disappointed with the news to have some perspective.

“You might take a moment to entertain the idea that things are more complex than they appear in a world of emojis and tweets,” he said in a Wednesday, August 24, interview with TVLine. “All I’ll say is Kelli has handled this with the most incredibly classy comportment. She is, without a doubt, one of the finest industry professionals I’ve come across [in] my 24 years of writing television. I’m saddened by her looming exit. It’ll be my lucky day if I ever get to write for her again.”

Giddish has welcomed the challenges of playing Rollins over the years, even intentionally seeking out emotionally difficult storylines.

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“It would be pretty boring if everything was easy breezy. I’ve always told the head writers, ‘If you need to throw anybody under the bus, it better be me.’ I like going from a place where you have to crawl your way back up, you know? Being on top is not the fun part,” she told Smashing Interviews Magazine in October 2021.

Scroll through for everything to know about the Law and Order: SVU actress:

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