| Captain Olivia Benson | |
|---|---|
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character | |
 Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson | |
| First appearance | September 20, 1999 (episode 1.01: "Payback") |
| Portrayed by | Mariska Hargitay |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Olivia Margaret Benson |
| Title | NYPD Officer (Before show, 1992-1998) NYPD Junior Detective (seasons 1–12, 1998–2011) NYPD Senior Detective (seasons 13–15, 2011–2013) NYPD Sergeant (seasons 15–17, 2013–2015) NYPD Lieutenant (seasons 17–21, 2015–2019) NYPD Captain (seasons 21–present, 2019–present) |
| Family | Joseph Hollister (father) (deceased) Serena Benson (mother) (deceased) Simon Marsden (paternal half-brother) (deceased) Tracy Harrison[1] (sister-in-law) Ty Harrison (step-nephew) Olivia Marsden (paternal niece) Noah Porter Benson (adopted son) |
| Partner | Elliot Stabler (Before show, seasons 1–12; 1998-2011) Nick Amaro (seasons 13–15) Amanda Rollins (season 14) |
| Seasons | L&O: 10, 16, 21, 22 SVU: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 TBJ: 1 OC: 1, 2, 3 |
Olivia "Liv" Margaret Benson[2] is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. Benson holds the rank and pay-grade of Captain and is the Commanding Officer of the Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, which operates out of the 16th Precinct. She investigates sexual offenses such as rape and child sexual abuse.
When the series began, Benson held the rank of detective. Benson was partnered with Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), serving as the junior member of the pair. Following Stabler's departure at the end of the 12th season after a deadly shootout in the precinct, she is partnered with Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) and becomes the senior member. During the 15th season, Benson is promoted to sergeant and appointed as squad supervisor in the wake of the retirement of Sergeant John Munch (Richard Belzer). Soon afterward, Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) retires, and appoints Benson acting commanding officer of SVU until Lieutenant Declan Murphy (Donal Logue) comes to the squad. In Season 17, she is promoted to Lieutenant and becomes the squad's official commanding officer. She is promoted to captain in the 21st season.
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. As of season 24, Benson has been credited in 551 episodes of SVU (574 in the franchise/universe). With the premiere of season 21, Hargitay's Benson became the longest running prime-time live-action character of all time, surpassing the 20 season record (but as of yet not its 635 episode count) held by Gunsmoke's Marshall Matt Dillon and Kelsey Grammer's character Frasier Crane from Cheers and Frasier, as well as Belzer's John Munch, who was a regular character for 22 seasons (7 on Homicide: Life on the Street and 15 on SVU).[3][4]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Child's Welfarewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Heartfelt Passages". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 17. Episode 23. May 25, 2016. NBC.
- ^ Amhurst, Sam (November 10, 2019). "Law and Order SVU season 22 release date, plot, cast and everything you need to know". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 29, 2019). "'Law & Order: SVU' Renewed For Record-Breaking 21st Season By NBC As Dick Wolf & Mariska Hargitay Write TV History". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation.