'Blue Bloods' Alum Jennifer Esposito Lands 'Law & Order: SVU' Role

Blue Bloods vet, Jennifer Esposito, is switching roles with a part in the popular crime show Law & [...]

By Victoria Moghaddami

Blue Bloods vet, Jennifer Esposito, is switching roles with a part in the popular crime show Law & Order: SVU.

Long time cast member, ICE-T — who plays Odafin Tutuola — teased fans with a video shared to Twitter on Monday afternoon.

According to TVLine, it's been confirmed that Esposito is playing the role of Sgt. Phoebe Baker — who runs the Vice squad, teaming up with SVU to investigate a chain of pop-up brothels — on the long-running NBC series. It's been a while since the actress made an appearance on SVU. She's made a few between 1996 to 2006, all whom are different characters.

Fans will learn that Fin and Baker have a history of working in Narcotics together dating 20 years back.

The award-winning actress is known for appearing on other shows like NCIS and Spin City, plus movies like Taxi, but things were cut short in her most recent role in Blue Bloods due to her chronic illness.

For years she battled with exhaustion, stomach issues, horrible panic attacks and pains she could hardly tolerate. Doctors diagnosed her with a wide variety of problems over the course of 25 years, from multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, hormonal problems, stress and mental imbalance.

"All of these misdiagnoses suggested that my symptoms weren't real — that I was making them up," Esposito explained.

However, in 2007 when a tooth flew out of her mouth, she was convinced "stress" was not her issue. After she found a female doctor who took the time to listen to her for two hours, the medical professional responded with, "I don't know how you're still alive!"

She was finally diagnosed with celiac disease — which is an autoimmune disorder in which the ingestion of gluten damages the small intestine. It impacts the gut and the body's ability to absorb nutrients from food, without the absorption, the body begins to feed on itself for fuel.

"Something happens to you when you go unheard for so long. Your soul starts to die a little, and you believe your words don't matter. I'm here to tell you that they do. If you have something going on in your body that you know in your gut is not what you are being told, you must take a stand for yourself," she wrote in her book Jennifer's Way.

Esposito's new episode on Law & Order: SVU will air Thursday Feb. 14 on NBC.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of