Olivia Benson

Olivia Margaret Benson is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. Benson holds the rank of Lieutenant and is the Commanding Officer of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, which operates out of the 16th precinct. For the first twelve seasons, she is partnered with Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Following Stabler's departure, she is partnered with Nick Amaro (Danny Pino), but soon becomes sergeant and acting commanding officer in the wake of both Sergeant John Munch (Richard Belzer) and Captain Donald Cragen's (Dann Florek) retirement during the 15th season. During the 17th season, she is promoted to lieutenant and becomes the squad's official commanding officer. The character first appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit pilot episode, "Payback", which aired September 20, 1999. Hargitay remains the only original cast member still present on the series. Benson has been credited in 403 episodes of SVU (411 in the franchise/universe), and as of the season 17 finale "Heartfelt Passages", she is currently the second–longest serving character in the Law & Order universe, behind SVU's Munch. She made her 400th credited appearance in the third episode of the eighteenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, surpassing Donald Cragen as the character with the most credited appearances in the franchise. Hargitay's portrayal of Olivia Benson has received critical acclaim, and she has been the recipient of numerous awards and nominations, including an Emmy and a Golden Glob