Since 1999, Mariska Hargitay has been showing up on Law and Order: SVU as Detective Olivia Benson of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. But could we be saying goodbye to her soon?
It's a question SVU fans have worried about for a while, and in the past few weeks, Mariska has teased a "big announcement" coming in January 2025. But one thing she made clear? She's not looking to retire from SVU soon. In fact, she shared in an interview on October 29 with Town & Country that her continuing run on the show proves how much she loves doing it.
When guest stars share how impressed they are about Mariska being on the show since she was 35, the actress, now 60, said she tells them, "'Sweetheart, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t still invested.'"
She continued saying, "I don’t need to be here. I have a lot of other things going on, but I love this place, and I love this job."
This only seemed to confirm what she said in another interview with E! News in mid-October, where she shared that she had thought about retirement as something that would happen "way later."
Although fans are thrilled to hear this news, it's not exactly shocking that she still has so much love for a show that's been on air for so long. The Joyful Heart Foundation, which she founded five years into filming SVU, showcases how passionate she is about the work her on-screen counterpart tackles week after week. The organization, which helps support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, is evidence of her commitment to Detective Olivia Benson's mission on screen.
As for the "big announcement" she's teased for next year, we can all exhale and get excited about it!
Annie O’Sullivan (she/her) covers holiday, gift guide, travel, and lifestyle content at Good Housekeeping. She has a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and previously reported for Runner’s World, NBC New York/NY 4 and Woman’s Day. Annie also has experience writing entertainment news and celebrity-focused content.
