Christopher Meloni’s Daughter Just Shared the Sweetest Throwback to Mark His Birthday

Law & Order: Organized Crime star Christopher Meloni’s daughter Sophia recently shared the sweetest throwback photo to mark his birthday. In an Instagram post, the 20-year-old shared an old picture of her and her father when she was a toddler. In the photo, Meloni smiles while donning a pair of tiny blue sunglasses upside down while the young Sofia is trying to cover him with some fabric.

In the post’s caption, Sophia referred to her dad as her “twin spirit” and noted that he was turning 60 years old. “We share a passion for dress-up, a boyish obsession with Elvis Costello and just about everything else,” she added. “Love you always.” Sophia’s post brought out a lot of well-wishers, with one follower commenting, “I love how close you two are. Happy birthday to your dad!” Someone else added, “Your dad is my hero.”

While “dad” is certainly his most important role in life, Meloni is most well-known for his acting. More specifically, he is a fan-favorite star in the Law & Order franchise, having starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Elliot Stabler for many years. After leaving the role some time ago, Meloni recently returned to it, now starring in the new spin-off, Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Back in July, Meloni spoke with Entertainment Tonight about returning as Stabler, and he told the outlet that “a certain piece just fell into place.” He continued, “For me, there were just personal things that I was like, ‘You know, now is a good time.’ That was it. There was nothing secret. It just was effortlessly correct.” Meloni added, “It’s one of these [things where] I felt like I believed in the stars and all that… I’d go, ‘Oh, the stars are telling me you know but because it was just right.’”

Meloni was initially scheduled to return as Stabler on the Season 22 premiere of Law & Order: SVU, but that changed due to the production issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “These days, all plans are subject to change. And then they change again. And again. For now, we won’t reintroduce Stabler until the night of his Organized Crime premiere,” SVU showrunner Warren Leight tweeted in August. “[The SVU writers room] has to be NIMBLE this year.” Law & Order: Organized Crime airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, after Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, on NBC.