Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born January 23, 1964) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, the longest-running character of all time in an American primetime drama. Her accolades include three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. After attending Marymount High School in Los Angeles, she enrolled in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, leaving before completing her degree to pursue acting. Her credits outside Law & Order: Special Victims Unit include the series Falcon Crest and In the Heat of the Night (both 1988), Tequila and Bonetti (1992), Can't Hurry Love (1995–1996), and ER (1997–1998). In 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Outside acting, Hargitay co-produced the HBO documentary I Am Evidence (2017), winning a News and Documentary Emmy for the project. She launched the production company Mighty Entertainment in 2025, under which she directed the documentary My Mom Jayne (2025). She founded the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to people who have been sexually abused. She is a certified rape counselor and has engaged in initiatives to support domestic violence shelters and raise awareness about untested rape kits.