Sylvia Costas-Sipowicz, ADA, was a fictional character on NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

. She was played by Sharon Lawrence

Sharon Lawrence

Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American television actress. She is best known for the role of Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the Television series NYPD Blue...

.

Sylvia Costas was an elegant, beautiful ADA (Assistant District Attorney) who began an affair with the older and tough Detective Andy Sipowicz

Andy Sipowicz

Andy Sipowicz is a fictional character and protagonist on the popular ABC television series NYPD Blue. Dennis Franz portrayed the character for its entire run....

, played by Dennis Franz

Dennis Franz

Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt...

. Costas saw the decent, caring human being underneath Detective Andy Sipowicz's gruff exterior and fell in love with him. She was very supportive of his attempts to stay sober, a determination likely related to the fact that many of her known family members appear to be alcoholics. Meeting Sylvia's Greek family caused Sipowicz to fall off the wagon, sparking a period of strain in their relationship, which was eventually overcome in their marriage in 1998. Their union later bore a son, Theo. Shortly after Theo's birth, Andy's first son from a previous marriage, Andy Jr., was killed, which caused him to begin drinking again. Despite her sympathy for his loss, Sylvia put her foot down, ordering Andy out of their home until he could acknowledge his problem.

Their devotion to each other would be tested again when Andy underwent surgery for prostate cancer.

As the Sipowicz-Costas nuptials approached, Andy expressed a desire to get married quickly in a Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 civil service, while Sylvia wanted a traditional big Greek Orthodox wedding. The two were married at the Saint Sophia

Saint Sophia (Los Angeles)

Saint Sophia , was built by Charles Skouras in 1952, in what was then the Greek section of Los Angeles, California. It is located at West 15th Street and South Normandie Avenue in what is now the Harvard Heights neighborhood. This Greek Orthodox church is the result of a Hollywood success story...

 Greek

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

Cathedral.

Sylvia was confident on the job, and was known to wield an acid tongue when cops' procedural errors blew her cases. She was raped while in law school, which made her (and Andy, once he found out) especially sensitive about rape cases. She took some time off from work to care for her newborn son Theo, but had returned to the job when she was killed by James Mayo in a courthouse shooting incident. Her final words to Andy were "Take care of the baby."

She is ranked eighth on a list of top ten hot naked TV lawyers.