Shana Dowdeswell

Shana Dowdeswell
Date of birth 1 April 1989
Place of birth Harare, Zimbabwe
Date of death 12 December 2012 (age 23)
Place of death Manhattan, New York City, New York
IMDb profile

Shana Elizabeth Dowdeswell (April 1, 1989 - December 12, 2012) was an actress who played four different characters in all three primary shows of the Law & Order franchise.

Shana has appeared on other television series such as Mercy, Family of the Year, and Body of Proof. She also appeared in the movies The Stream, The Winning Season, Asylum Seekers, and Choose. She appeared in the five movies that were completed after her death: The Big Wedding (2013), a short called Going South (2013), An Ornament of Faith (2013), another short called Wish You Were Here (2013), and Mistress America (2015).

In 2002, Shana starred in the off-Broadway production of Frank Higgins' play Miracles, portraying the role of Eve, an autistic girl who receives intensive therapy from a teacher using the method called "facilitated communication" after which she is revealed as a genius and a talented poet. Shana's performance was reviewed as "most affecting".

In December 2012, Shana collapsed after she had been drinking several shots of whiskey over a two and a half period in a bar called The Basement in New York City. She then tried to make her way home, but was unable to as she collapsed on her parents' doorstep. A dog walker found Shana unconscious and she was rushed to the Beth Israel Medical Center, where her blood alcohol content was at 0.39 at the time which is five times the state's legal limit for driving. On December 12th, five days after being admitted to hospital, Shana died at 23 years old; her cause of death was acute and chronic alcoholism.

Appearances

Law & Order: SVU

• "Hooked" (2005) as Melissa
• "Turmoil" (2009) as Nikki Sherman

Law & Order: CI as Jordan Fernholz

• "In the Wee Small Hours (Part I)" (2005)
• "In the Wee Small Hours (Part II)" (2005)

Law & Order

• "Chattel" (2009) as Karen Johnson