Stephanie March
Encyclopedia
Stephanie Caroline March (born July 23, 1974) is an American
actress, best known for her current portrayal of Alexandra Cabot on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.
, the daughter of John Abe March IV and wife Laura Len (née
Irwin) and the sister of Charlotte. She has German
, Dutch
, Irish
, and English
ancestry. She attended Highland Park High School
, the same high school Angie Harmon
(of the original Law & Order
) attended. March was a sophomore when Harmon was a senior. She began performing in plays in high school. In 1996 she graduated from the School of Speech (now School of Communication) at Northwestern University
, where she majored in Theater and Hispanic
Studies and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta
sorority.
in A Midsummer Night's Dream
in Chicago
, where she continued to pursue her stage career.
In 1999, March made her Broadway
debut in the highly acclaimed production of Arthur Miller
's Death of a Salesman
, opposite Brian Dennehy
. Her other career highlights include roles on the television series Early Edition
and in the TV movie Since You’ve Been Gone.
Her biggest career success to date has been her role as Alexandra Cabot on the NBC
crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
, a role she played from 2000 to 2003. March reprised her role as Alexandra Cabot
, now a Bureau Chief Executive ADA, on the short-lived NBC
courtroom spin-off
drama Conviction, which debuted in spring 2006. She returned to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as Alexandra Cabot in a six episode arc starting March 10, 2009 in its tenth season. She continued her role as Cabot during most of its eleventh season starting in the fifth episode. In July 2011 it was announced that March would return to the series as Alexandra Cabot alongside Diane Neal
following a cast shake-up after Christopher Meloni
's departure and Mariska Hargitay
's role reduction. She returns for an unknown number of episodes in Season 13 of the hit series.
She has also appeared in the Chris Rock
comedy Head of State
and the Brad Pitt
/Angelina Jolie
vehicle Mr. & Mrs. Smith
. March also appeared in a 2009 story arc on Rescue Me
as a psychic
.
March posed for Maxim Magazine in 2000 and also performed in the Broadway debut of Eric Bogosian
's Talk Radio
, starring Liev Schreiber
, in 2007. She more recently also starred in Howard Korder
's Boy's Life alongside Jason Biggs
. She also played Cissy Hathaway in the TV movie Jesse Stone: Night Passage (2006) starring Tom Selleck
.
March appeared in the 2009 film The Invention of Lying
as the woman Ricky Gervais
's character tells the world will end unless she has sex with him.
Additionally, March serves as a board member for Safe Horizon, an organization that provides support, prevents violence, and promotes justice for victims of crime and abuse.
. She married celebrity chef Bobby Flay
in 2005. She has appeared on four of Flay's Food Network
shows—Boy Meets Grill
, Grill It! with Bobby Flay, Iron Chef America
, and Throwdown with Bobby Flay—as a guest judge.
March became a celebrity ambassador to World of Children Awards
in January 2010. She gave up her birthday to World of Children on July 23, 2010, to raise money for the non-profit.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, best known for her current portrayal of Alexandra Cabot on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
.
Early life
March was born in Dallas, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, the daughter of John Abe March IV and wife Laura Len (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Irwin) and the sister of Charlotte. She has German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
, Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, and English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
ancestry. She attended Highland Park High School
Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas)
Highland Park High School is located in University Park, Texas.Highland Park is a part of the Highland Park Independent School District. It serves all of the city of University Park, most of the town of Highland Park, and portions of Dallas.-History:...
, the same high school Angie Harmon
Angie Harmon
Angela Michelle "Angie" Harmon is an American fashion model and television/film actress. She became a well-known model before gaining international fame for her roles in Baywatch Nights and Law & Order....
(of the original Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
) attended. March was a sophomore when Harmon was a senior. She began performing in plays in high school. In 1996 she graduated from the School of Speech (now School of Communication) at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, where she majored in Theater and Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
Studies and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
sorority.
Career
At Northwestern, she played HelenaHelena (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Helena is one of the iconic four young lovers in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and is a very desperate woman. She is generally interpreted as being tall, slim and blonde - her best friend Hermia calls her a "painted maypole" during an argument. Although she does not see herself...
in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where she continued to pursue her stage career.
In 1999, March made her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in the highly acclaimed production of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
, opposite Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy
Brian Mannion Dennehy is an American actor of film, stage and screen.-Early years:Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah and Edward Dennehy, who was a wire service editor for the Associated Press; he has two brothers, Michael and Edward. Dennehy is of Irish ancestry and was...
. Her other career highlights include roles on the television series Early Edition
Early Edition
Early Edition is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. Set in the city of Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the day before it is actually published, and who uses this...
and in the TV movie Since You’ve Been Gone.
Her biggest career success to date has been her role as Alexandra Cabot on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
, a role she played from 2000 to 2003. March reprised her role as Alexandra Cabot
Alexandra Cabot (Law & Order)
Alexandra "Alex" Cabot is a fictional character within the Law & Order universe portrayed by Stephanie March. She is a primary character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Conviction.-Character overview:...
, now a Bureau Chief Executive ADA, on the short-lived NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
courtroom spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
drama Conviction, which debuted in spring 2006. She returned to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
as Alexandra Cabot in a six episode arc starting March 10, 2009 in its tenth season. She continued her role as Cabot during most of its eleventh season starting in the fifth episode. In July 2011 it was announced that March would return to the series as Alexandra Cabot alongside Diane Neal
Diane Neal
Diane Neal is an American actress widely known for her role as Casey Novak on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Biography:...
following a cast shake-up after Christopher Meloni
Christopher Meloni
Christopher Peter Meloni is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz.-Early life:Meloni was born the youngest of three children in...
's departure and Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
's role reduction. She returns for an unknown number of episodes in Season 13 of the hit series.
She has also appeared in the Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
comedy Head of State
Head of State (film)
Head of State is a 2003 comedy film directed, written by, and starring Chris Rock and also co-starring Bernie Mac. The film's title refers to that function of the President of the United States, the other two functions being head of government and commander in chief.-Plot:Mays Gilliam is an...
and the Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
/Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
vehicle Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American romantic comedy action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The original music score was composed by John Powell...
. March also appeared in a 2009 story arc on Rescue Me
Rescue Me (TV series)
Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...
as a psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
.
March posed for Maxim Magazine in 2000 and also performed in the Broadway debut of Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
's Talk Radio
Talk Radio (play)
Talk Radio is a 1987 Pulitzer Prize-nominated play written by Eric Bogosian, based on a concept by Bogosian and Tad Savinar. It centers around Barry Champlain, a Cleveland-area shock jock, on the eve of his radio show's national syndication....
, starring Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber , commonly known as Liev Schreiber, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the Scream trilogy of...
, in 2007. She more recently also starred in Howard Korder
Howard Korder
Howard Korder is an American screenwriter and playwright. He is the author of the 1988 coming-of-age play Boy's Life, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nomination. His play Search and Destroy was adapted into a film in 1995. Among the screenplays he has written are The Passion of Ayn...
's Boy's Life alongside Jason Biggs
Jason Biggs
Jason Matthew Biggs is an American actor who is best known for his role as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie series of teen comedy films.-Personal life:...
. She also played Cissy Hathaway in the TV movie Jesse Stone: Night Passage (2006) starring Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
.
March appeared in the 2009 film The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy film that is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. This film is the directorial debut of Gervais. The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie...
as the woman Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
's character tells the world will end unless she has sex with him.
Additionally, March serves as a board member for Safe Horizon, an organization that provides support, prevents violence, and promotes justice for victims of crime and abuse.
Personal life
March lives in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She married celebrity chef Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay
Robert William "Bobby" Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur and reality television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of 12 restaurants: Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, New York City, and the Bahamas ; Bar Americain in New York City and Uncasville, Connecticut; Bobby Flay Steak...
in 2005. She has appeared on four of Flay's Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
shows—Boy Meets Grill
Boy Meets Grill
Boy Meets Grill is a show on the Food Network. This show, hosted by Bobby Flay, features grilling tips for people with any level of experience in the kitchen. It was first aired in 2002. Boy Meets Grill also airs on ETC, Lifestyle Channel in the Philippines and on the Israeli Food Channel.The name...
, Grill It! with Bobby Flay, Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
, and Throwdown with Bobby Flay—as a guest judge.
March became a celebrity ambassador to World of Children Awards
World of Children Awards
The World of Children Awards is a global recognition and funding program for people specifically and exclusively serving the needs of children. Sometimes referred to as the "Nobel Prize© for Child Advocacy," the San Francisco Bay Area based non-profit was founded in 1996 and is led by Co-Founder's...
in January 2010. She gave up her birthday to World of Children on July 23, 2010, to raise money for the non-profit.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Focus Room | Kim | |
| Head of State Head of State (film) Head of State is a 2003 comedy film directed, written by, and starring Chris Rock and also co-starring Bernie Mac. The film's title refers to that function of the President of the United States, the other two functions being head of government and commander in chief.-Plot:Mays Gilliam is an... |
Nikki | ||
| 2005 | Mr. and Mrs. Smith Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film) Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American romantic comedy action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The original music score was composed by John Powell... |
Julie (Associate #1) | |
| 2006 | Flannel Pajamas Flannel Pajamas (film) Flannel Pajamas is a 2006 film directed by Jeff Lipsky, starring Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk. It charts the course of a short-lived marriage, from its passionate beginning through the daily erosion of feeling and romance to separation... |
Cathy | |
| The Treatment The Treatment (2006 film) The Treatment is an American romantic comedy film released in 2006 starring Chris Eigeman and Famke Janssen and produced and directed by Oren Rudavsky.It is based on a novel with the same title by Daniel Menaker.-Plot:... |
Julia | ||
| Copy That | Stephanie | ||
| 2007 | East Broadway/Falling For Grace | Kay Douglas | |
| 2009 | The Invention of Lying The Invention of Lying The Invention of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy film that is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. This film is the directorial debut of Gervais. The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie... |
Blonde | |
| TV Appearances | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Early Edition Early Edition Early Edition is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. Set in the city of Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the day before it is actually published, and who uses this... |
Arlene | Episode: "A Bris Is Just a Bris" |
| 2000 | Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman (2000 film) Death of a Salesman is a 2000 television film directed by Kirk Browning, based on the 1949 play of the same name by Arthur Miller. The film stars American actor Brian Dennehy as Willy Loman .... |
Miss Forsythe | TV film |
| 2000–2003, 2005, 2009–2010, 2011- | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced... |
ADA Alexandra Cabot | Season 2-5 Season 6 Episode: "Ghost Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 6) This article contains a list of episodes for season 6 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Det. John Munch... " Season 10-11 Season 13 |
| 2003 | HBO First Look HBO First Look HBO First Look is an American television show on HBO that chronicles up and coming movies. It first started in 1992 with a documentary on A League of Their Own starring Tom Hanks, and still airs today. The series shows behind-the-scenes looks at the filming and interviews with the actors. The show... |
Herself | Episode: "Head of State" |
| What America Eats with Parade' | Herself/Host | TV series | |
| 2006 | Celebrity Weddings: In Style | Herself | |
| Jesse Stone: Night Passage | Cissy Hathaway | TV film | |
| Conviction | Alexandra Cabot | All 13 episodes | |
| 30 Rock 30 Rock 30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live... |
Gretchen Thomas | Episode: "Blind Date Blind Date (30 Rock) "Blind Date" is the third episode of the first season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by Adam Bernstein. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company in the United States on October 25, 2006... " |
|
| 2007 | Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in... |
Jane | Episode: "Physical Attraction... Chemical Reaction" |
| 2008 | E! True Hollywood Story E! True Hollywood Story E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures... |
Herself | Appeared in the Mariska Hargitay Mariska Hargitay Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress... episode |
| 2009 | Rescue Me Rescue Me (TV series) Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show... |
Psychic | Episode: "Jimmy" |