Diane Russell

Diane Russell was a fictional character in the television series NYPD Blue. She was played by Kim Delaney from the second season to the eighth and made five further appearances in seasons ten and eleven.

During her years on the program, Diane had a number of personal problems. She battled alcoholism with the help of her sponsor Andy Sipowicz; confessed to lover Bobby Simone that she had been molested by her father when she was a child; dealt with domestic violence in her parents' marriage and her father's death at the hands of her mother; had a miscarriage; and later lost Bobby, by then her new husband, to a heart infection and failed heart transplant.

After Bobby's death she started a destructive relationship with his replacement, Danny Sorenson, and eventually had to leave the department as she realised that she had not gotten over her husband's death. During her brief return it was revealed that, after her compassionate leave, she had been assigned to the sex crimes unit. Her return to the 15th Squad, however, was not as smooth as it might have been. When Diane's behavior became questionable, Connie suspected that she was drinking again, and her suspicions also caused friction between her and Andy when he got beat up trying to stop a bar fight started over her. The two women mended fences the next day, and Diane confided that she had been drinking because she discovered a lump in her breast, and her family has a history of breast cancer. Connie promised her support. Fortunately, the lump was not cancerous, and she returned to the Sex Crimes unit after they successfully apprehended their subject.