Bernadette’s disorder made it very hard for her to raise Elliot and his six siblings. Elliot almost died from one of her psychotic phases. Elliot has had little to no contact with his mother and almost erased his childhood. Bernadette made it a point to participate in her grandchildren’s lives. Stabler’s mother will be making an appearance on Season 2 of Law & Order: Organized Crime.
She is the last Stabler family member to make a return on the new series, following the appearance of Elliot’s wife, Kathy (Isabel Gillies), in the show’s premiere, and his children Kathleen, Dickie (Jeffrey Scaperrotta), Maureen (Autumn Mirassou), Elizabeth (Kaitlyn Davidson) and Eli (Nicky Torchia). Continue reading for more information about Elliot’s mother and how she is returning to her son’s life.
Who plays Elliot Stabler’s mom in ‘Law & Order’?
Actress Ellen Burstyn had her breakthrough role in 1971’s The Last Picture Show and solidified her acting career with her iconic character Chris MacNeil in The Exorcist. Ellen won the Best Actress Oscar for Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Ellen’s portrayal as Stabler’s mother earned her an Emmy nomination in 2009 for Outstanding Guest Artist in a Drama Series. When Stabler tries to visit his mother in Season 10 of SVU, fans also find out she is going through a manic phase.
Former executive producer and showrunner for Law & Order: SVU Neal Baer talked about how Ellen featured in one of his favorite moments in an interview with ET. He shared, “My favorite scene with Christopher Meloni is with Ellen Burstyn on the beach where it’s interesting because these moments are obviously personal moments Stabler is talking to his mother, who is in a manic phase with her bipolar disorder.”
Elliot went to see his mother because his daughter was in trouble and he didn’t know where else to turn. Neal goes on to say, “The combination of the two of them is really moving and gives us a real humane side of Stabler, you know, apart from the angry detective that will stop at nothing to bring in the perp. This is a man who has his own wounds, and they’ve been opened up for us to see when we brought in his mother.”
We don’t know why Bernadette is coming back into her son’s life after all this time. It will be interesting to find out if Elliot is still trying to manage his emotions after Kathy’s unexpectedly violent death. Ellen’s appearance is planned for later in the autumn.
Season 2 of Law & Order: Organized Crime premieres on Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.