Why You Recognize Law & Order Guest Star Cara Buono
If Law & Order guest star Cara Buono, who played the mom of the defendant on Season 24, Episode 6, looked familiar, there's good reason.
Among her many TV roles, Cara Buono’s been married to a mobster, was romantically involved with Don Draper, and currently plays the mom of some demon-fighting kids.
Most recently, the actress took on the intense Law & Order role of a mother who was willing to do anything for her anxious teen daughter — even if that meant serving decades behind bars.
Buono played Lisa Dumont in the “Time Will Tell” episode of Season 24, the mom of Emily Dumont (Carmen Flood), a scholarship student at a prestigious New York City high school.
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After Emily was suspected of killing the school’s headmaster in a fit of rage due to being denied more time to take a test because of her anxiety, Lisa shockingly claimed on the stand that she committed the crime herself. She later agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a 20-year-sentence, proving there were bounds to this mom’s love.
It’s just the latest complex role for the talented actress, who has enjoyed a long and varied career.
What shows and movies has Cara Buono been in?
Buono got her start in acting in the late 1980s, but many may know her as Karen Wheeler, the somewhat clueless mother of Mike, Nancy and Holly Wheeler on the sci-fi horror show, Stranger Things. Viewers may also remember Buono from her role as Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti, the wife of mobster and night club owner Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), in the final season of The Sopranos.
In 2010, Buono played a woman ahead of her time on the period drama Mad Men when she took on the role of Dr. Faye Miller in a 10-episode arc. Faye was a strategist for a consumer-research company, often helping ad man Don Draper (Jon Hamm) craft a perfect pitch before the pair embarked on an ill-fated romance that ended in heartbreak.
In 2022, the actress played the mother of another conflicted teen on trial in The Girl From Plainville, a limited series inspired by the true crime saga of Michelle Carter.
“My character in Plainville is really ill-equipped to deal with everything," Buono told W Magazine in 2022 of the challenging role. "She tries — she really tries. That’s the mother in her, but she’s not prepared to handle this tragedy."
Buono is also no stranger to Law & Order and has played three other characters on the long-running criminal justice drama, beginning in 1996 with the guest-starring role of Attorney Shannon. She’s also appeared on the shows Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Third Watch, ER and Person of Interest.
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Which of Cara Buono's characters does she most identify with?
The character that most closely resembles Buono's own personality is Mad Men’s Dr. Faye Miller, according to the actress. “Dr. Faye was such an amazing character, a self-made career woman, and feminist ahead of her time," Buono told entertainment site CherryPicks in a 2022 story. "She was more like me as a person, a woman who had come from the outer boroughs and made her way to Manhattan on her own."
Buono also said she easily identified with her character on The Sopranos because of her own roots growing up in the Bronx in an Italian-American family.
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When she isn’t in front of a camera, Buono volunteers at the Crime Victims Treatment Center in New York City, where she's spent more than 30 year working to help victims of sexual assault.
“I’m really good in a crisis,” she told W Magazine. “It’s where I shine and where I feel like I can do a lot of good.”
To see who will guest star next on Season 24 of Law & Order, watch new episodes on Thursday nights at 8/7c p.m. on NBC or stream them on Peacock when they become available.
