—u/Xeillan

“She paid her dues, man. She landed the Olivia Benson role when she was 34 or 35; prior to that, she was a career guest star, B-movie actor, and recurring character actor. Then, when most people would consider an actor or actress past their prime, she wound up becoming arguably the most iconic television actress of the 21st century, all the while you never hear anything but positive things about her off-camera.”

—u/DCT715

“She’s played Olivia Benson so well and made such an impact that when they were filming in Central Park a few years back, a little girl got lost from her mom and walked up to Mariska (as Benson) and got help to reunite with her mom.

She only had the badge on and the usual dressy-casual detective look instead of an officer’s uniform, but that girl still felt “this police officer will help me” vibes. Of course, Mariska took charge and helped.”

—u/level27jennybro

“She has also done a bunch of advocacy for victims of rape and domestic violence because real women reached out to her because her character was so believable. That is pretty amazing.”

—u/BeagleWrangler

“Hargitay has played Benson longer than anyone else has played a live-action character on television on American primetime.”

—u/hercarmstrong