Now this hit us right in the feels! During an exclusive interview with Life & Style, Law & Order alum Elisabeth Röhm opened up about how she relates to Serena Southerlyn — the Assistant District Attorney she portrayed for 85 episodes of the series between 2001 and 2005.

“Between Serena Southerlyn and myself, I think she’s the idealistic, I think she cares a lot. She’s a bleeding heart and I’m a bleeding heart,” she said at the American Heart Association‘s Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection showcase, presented by Macy‘s. “I think that I respond to characters that have a lot of strength, so hopefully I think there are things in common between us.”

When Serena first stepped on to the scene in Season 12, she replaced Angie Harmon’s character, Abbie Carmichael. Elisabeth starred on the long-running series alongside Dianne Wiest, Fred Thompson, and Sam Waterston. Fans will recall her headline-making series departure, as Serena came out as a lesbian on her last episode. Law & Order wrapped in 2010 after 20 seasons — making the NBC series the second longest-running scripted primetime TV series in the United States.

Elisabeth moved on to appear in shows like Heroes, The Client List, and Beauty and the Beast, and on the movie front she starred in American Hustle, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, and more. You can now watch the mother-of-one play Agent Aria Price on The Oath and has flicks like Notorious Nick, Adolescence, and Starbright coming out this year.

Law & Order‘s spinoff series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is currently in Season 19 and returns to NBC on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 9 p.m. EST.

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