T hroughout the long-running Law & Order franchise, many actors have come and gone, with very few sticking around for 20+ years. Mariska Hargitay has been the face of Law & Order:

Mariska Hargitay has brought the brave Olivia Benson to life on the screens of Law & Order: SVU. Without a doubt, after all these years in the role, the actress's life has drastically changed.

Few actors can boast a television career as enduring and impactful as Mariska Hargitay’s. For over 25 years, she has portrayed Detective Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU). Hargitay took on the role in 1999 at age 35, and today, at 61, she remains one of TV’s most celebrated and recognizable stars.

They track down the bad guys and investigate heinous crimes on-screen, and they have been for nearly 26 years, but behind the scenes, the stars of Law & Order: SVU get to experience their own happy love stories away from all of the horror they endure on camera.

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni met on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 1999 — and decades later their bond is still going strong. For years, fans wanted their characters, Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler,