Alana De La Garza Stars In Law & Order

ALANA De La Garza is a law unto herself as the sassy, tough-talking Assistant District Attorney Connie Rubirosa on Ten's Law & Order.Previously, perhaps because of her strikingly beautiful looks, the 31-year-old Texas-raised former model was always cast as the “damsel in distress'' -- she was the one who needed to be saved.

Starring as Rubirosa, opposite Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy, De La Garza is doing the saving. “I was always whining and crying. It was like `Oh, get over it','' De La Garza (above) says of the characters she has previously played.The actor is the latest addition to the Law & Order cast; joining in the show's 17th season Rubirosa succeeds Alexandra Borgia, who was murdered in the final episode of the previous season.