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Danielle "Dani" Beck is a Danish detective assigned to Manhattan's Special Victims Unit. She briefly replaces Olivia Benson as Elliot Stabler's partner when Benson takes an undercover assignment.

History[]

Beck is a widow; her husband, fellow NYPD Sergeant Michael Dooley, was murdered while on duty. She swore to herself that she would never let his murderer, Tracy Monroe, get parole, and became obsessed with keeping him in prison. Eventually, however, she realized that Michael would have wanted her to move on with her life, and so, she forgave Monroe in order to put her husband's death behind her.

Beck had very different opinions on sexual assault compared to Stabler, who subsequently had doubts on whether she was suited for the Special Victims Unit or not. She often found herself getting upset or traumatized by some cases, even getting too involved in some.

There is some romantic tension between Beck and Stabler, and they share a kiss in "Underbelly"; however, they never take their relationship to the next step. This was apparent when Elliot pleaded with her to stay at SVU but couldn't convey any possible feelings and she is disappointed.

Beck leaves SVU after she bonds with an abused child and takes her in, only to find that there is nothing she can do to help her when the child tries to burn down her house in an attempt to kill herself and Dani so they could be together forever. Traumatized, she returns to her original assignment in the Warrants Squad.

Behind the scenes[]

Nielsen was cast to replace Mariska Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson, while the latter was on maternity leave. When Hargitay returned to the show, Nielson departed.

Officer-involved shootings[]

Trivia[]

  • Beck is fluent in French, which she used to comfort and gain the trust of a rape victim who was a native speaker. She learned the language from the summers she spent in Avignon, France, with her parents when she was a child. (SVU: "Recall")
  • Fan reception towards Beck was largely negative, mostly due to Beck and Stabler's romantic tension compared to Benson and Stabler's as well as her character being what fans called a poor replacement to Benson. Nielsen later went on to say that she would never return to SVU due to the poor reception towards her character.

Appearances[]

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