Elisabeth Rohm

In Step with Elisabeth Rohm James Brady From Parade Magazine, 9/28/03

Transcribed by KK

PERSONAL : Born Pril 28, 1923, in Dusseldorf, Germany. Single. TELEVISION : Includes One Life to Live, 1997-98 ; The ’60’s, 1999 : Angel, 1999-2001 ; Bull, 2000 ; Law & Order, 2001-

I had breakfast one morning recently at a Manhattan restaurant with one of the sleekest, coolest, brainiest actresses on television. And while Elisabeth Rohm had tea and eggs benedict, I drank decaf and just watched her.

For those who don’t follow the long-running hit series Law & Order, Ms. Rohm is the first blonde they’ve ever had in an assistant DA role. She followed such formidable brunet beauties as Angie Harmon, Jill Hennessy and Carey Lowell (now Ms. (sic) Richard Gere). As the series’ creative genius, Dick Wolf, has been quoted as saying, "It was time to include a blonde."

Elizabeth—now starting her third season as Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn—is quite realistic about the series : "It’s the boys’ show," she said. And she gets along with them. Rohm said she has become pals with Jerry Orbach and his wife, and when I asked about her on-camera boss, Sam Waterston, she said, "He’s a very fiery, independent spirit, and his marriage is a grounding force."

Law & Order is filmed entirely on location in New York. "It’s like the Yankees," Rohm said. "We’re so associated with the city. Everyone knows us and says hi ! Maybe we represent hope." She said she found New York gritty, but in a good way. "You don’t live in your apartment in New York," she said. "You live on the streets. I love to write, and I love to talk. Where better than in New York to do both ? Not many shows shoot here, and we’re not locked down like a Jennifer Lopez movie shoot. People come up and talk to Jerry, and he talks to them."

When Elisabeth talks about joining the cast of Law & Order, she gets downright rhapsodic. "It’s like being let into the Dead Poets’ Society," she told me. "A private club. They tease me, and there’s a lot of love on the set."

Prior to Law & Order, Elisabeth’s big TV jobs were a recurring spot on Angel and a starring role on the Wall Street drama Bull, a very promising series that was canceled. What happened ? Did the stock market bust kill it off ? "No," Elisabeth said. "That would have burnished the show. We had so many story lines. To this day, I don’t know."

Rohm said she’s now at a career stage where, "for the first time, people are calling—you and other press and the movies." And those first two seasons on Law & Order were great preparation, she said. "Now I want to be impulsive, to relax, enjoy, have a ball."

BRADY’S BITS Elisabeth Rohm was born in Germany to a lawyer father (he now practices in New York) and an American writer mother, so Elisabeth holds dual citizenship. She owns a horse (a chestnut-hued Hanovarian Warmblood) and is a superb rider. She keeps fit with long walks around Manhattan with her Doberman. Elisabeth was bitten by the acting bug at Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied history and writing. (Although still unpublished, she also writes novels and just finished the first draft of her second one.) When it came time to opt for a career, she said, her dad told her to "choose something you love, but also something—like law—that provides a roof over your head." Now she’s pretending to be a lawyer on television, and the roof over her head is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. On the morning we met, Elisabeth was impeccably turned out : tanned, hair done, cream-colored slacks and a golden top, very neat—a smooth, anti-grunge look. "I’m old-fashioned," she told me. "I love the time when men wore ties. I love dressing up. It’s sexier to show less."