Olivia Benson

Det. Olivia Benson
Law & Order character
Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson
First appearance	"Payback"
Last appearance	N/A
Portrayed by	Mariska Hargitay
Time on show	1999–present
Succeeded by	Current
Partner	Elliot Stabler Nick Amaro
Information
Title	NYPD Detective
Family	Joseph Hollister (father, deceased) Serena Benson (mother, deceased) Simon Marsden (paternal half-brother) Lucy Marsden (sister-in-law) Unnamed Nephew (nephew)

Det. Olivia "Liv" Benson is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. She is the former partner of Elliot Stabler. In Season 13, her partner will be Nick Amaro. According to showrunner Warren Leight, however, the show will have more of an "ensemble feel" in the upcoming season.^[1]

For the first 12 seasons Mariska co-starred with Christopher Meloni, and as of season 13 she is the sole lead of the series.^{[citation needed]}

Characterization

Series creator Dick Wolf has a daughter named Olivia and a son named Elliot,^[2] for whom he named the two lead detectives in the series. Wolf conceived Benson as a detective in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes. She is partnered with Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). She is tough, empathetic,^[3] and gets emotionally involved in cases.^[4] Executive producer and head writer Neal Baer has explained that she is "the empathetic, passionate voice for these victims",^[5] in contrast to Stabler, who embodies "the rage we feel, the 'How can this happen?' feeling".^[5] Of their partnership, Baer assessed that: "They both represent the feelings that we feel simultaneously when we hear about these cases. That's why they work so well together."^[5]

In the episode "Paranoia", Benson described how, despite the difficulty she faced in dealing with a 7-year-old female rape victim on her second case, Karen Smythe, who trained her, praised her for displaying a talent in dealing with victims.^[6] Benson herself is a child of her mother's rape.^[7] Her mother Serena (Elizabeth Ashley), an English professor, was an abusive alcoholic. In the season two episode "Taken", Benson's mother dies falling down a flight of subway stairs outside the entrance to a bar. In a later episode, "Intoxicated", she mentions being engaged briefly when she was 16 to one of her mother's students. Benson is a graduate of Siena College.^[8] While there, she held a membership in a sorority.^[9] In addition to English, Benson speaks some Spanish and French and is able to read the Miranda warnings in three other languages.^[10] She also has a younger half brother named Simon Marsden. Simon, whom she found by illegally running her DNA through the system, was thought to be a rapist. However his name was cleared in the episode, "Florida", where it is revealed he was framed by Captain Julia Millfield (Kim Delaney).

In the Season Twelve episode "Trophy", Benson's life is further complicated when she is named the legal guardian of a young boy named Calvin Arliss (Charlie Tahan). Calvin's mother, Vivian (Maria Bello) abandons Calvin and flees when Olivia's investigation uncovers that Vivian is also a child of rape and Vivian is the prime suspect in her mother's rapist's murder. The last thing that Vivian does is name Olivia as Calvin's legal guardian. Calvin lives with Olivia for a while, causing her both delight and stress when Calvin gets into fights at school. In "Rescue" Olivia finds Vivian and her close friend Sara have relapsed back into drug use. Sara confesses to murdering Vivian's rapist father and is then shot dead. The shooter was Calvin's father who wanted to punish Sara for making Vivian fall off the wagon. At the end of the episode, Olivia's parental rights are revoked by Vivian who sends Calvin to live with his grandparents. Both Calvin and Olivia are devastated by the separation.

Relationships

Hargitay has characterized Benson and Stabler's relationship as "very complicated".^[5] Her assessment is that:

“

Sometimes it's very much like brother and sister, and I think the reason that they're so close is that they share a passion for their jobs and for the people. They have a mutual respect for one another. I think that the average lifespan of an SVU detective is four years because of the difficulty and stress involved. They've been doing it for longer than that, so they feel like they're in their own world almost. There's also sexual chemistry between them, it's so loaded and layered. People ask me if they'll ever get together — and people want that, and sometimes I think even Olivia wants that — but I don't think that will ever happen.[5]

”

Baer agrees that a romantic relationship between the two is unlikely, though commented: "You never can say never".^[5]

Hargitay has stated that her favorite SVU scene occurs in season 7 episode "Fault", when Benson is faced with the possibility of losing Stabler: "Lou Diamond Phillips [who played a child killer] has a gun to Elliot's head. I'm negotiating [with him to drop the gun]. It was a painful, high-stakes scene. Elliot and I have to admit what we mean to each other... He is everything that [my character] Olivia has. So this was where we really got that to pay off."^[11] In an episode where Stabler goes undercover, Benson tries to talk him into coming back, but they are interrupted by Stabler's targets. She rushes to the bathroom, and undresses herself as she pretends to be a prostitute. This violation of his instructions resulted in Stabler getting shot at the end of the episode.

In the show's first season, Benson has a sexual relationship with one of her SVU colleagues, Detective Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters). In the episode "Closure" Benson refers to it as a drunken one night stand. It is implied that it was continued based on comments in the episode "Disrobed". Cassidy leaves the precinct at the end of that episode. In the season 5 episode "Lowdown" it was revealed Olivia had a relationship with a murder victim who turned out to be homosexual and also HIV positive. Warner immediately tests Olivia and the results come back negative. In the season nine episode "Closet", the SVU squad are surprised to find out that Benson has been in a relationship with journalist Kurt Moss (Bill Pullman) for several months. It only comes out because Internal Affairs are investigating Benson and Stabler in a case in which the department accidentally outed a professional football player. By the end of the episode, she breaks up with Moss.

While Benson has only been portrayed in relationships with men, she has, according to lesbian entertainment website AfterEllen.com, "attracted a large lesbian following".^[12] Fan speculation exists over alleged sexual tension between Benson and Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March), which Baer admits to indulging: "We read the fan sites. We know that people are into the Alex-Olivia thing. All the codes are in there."^[13]

Sexual assault

In the Season Nine episode "Undercover", Olivia poses as an inmate in a women's prison to investigate an alleged rape by a corrections officer. While there, the corrections officer in question attacks Olivia and attempts to force her to engage in oral sex on him. She is rescued by Fin, who gets there just in time to stop the rape. Later, Olivia helps convict the rapist by questioning his earlier victim about distinguishing features on his penis, prompting the victim to recall a mole on it, which Olivia later explains to medical examiner Melinda Warner that she had also seen. When Warner asks Olivia if she had been raped, Olivia replies, "It was the closest I've ever come."

In Season Ten, Olivia is seen struggling with now being a victim of sexual assault herself. She is attending group therapy, something she has not shared with anyone but Fin. In the episode "PTSD," while investigating the rape of a Marine, she is pushed against a wall while trying to break up a fight between a suspected rapist and another Marine. She subsequently breaks up the fight by holding her gun to the back of the suspect's head. Later, while in questioning, the other Marine tells Tutuola that, "She [Olivia] has PTSD, I would recognize that glassy-eyed look anywhere." At the end of the episode, the original suspect is cleared, and Olivia apologizes to him, admitting that she was a victim of sexual assault.

Development

Hargitay has deemed the storyline which saw Benson find her paternal family: "probably the biggest thing that's ever happened to Olivia."^[14] She feels her character is a role model for young girls, revealing:

“

I get letters saying, 'I want to do the right thing like Olivia. I want to be strong like Olivia. My friend did this, but I didn't do it because of Olivia.' For me, when a television show has that kind of positive effect on young people, it is great. I think it is a good thing that we are shedding light on darkness. I think it is a good thing to make young girls aware.[15]

”

Reception

Hargitay has won a number of awards for her role as Benson: 'Individual Achievement for Best Female Lead' and 'Outstanding Female Lead' Gracie Awards in 2004 and 2009 respectively, an Emmy for 'Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series' in 2006, a Prism Award for 'Performance in a Drama Series Episode' in 2006, and a Golden Globe for 'Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series' in 2005. Of her Emmy win, Hargitay commented: "It makes me only want to be better. Now I'm an Emmy winner. I have to step it up."^[14]

The San Francisco Chronicle's John Carman has called Hargitay "the show's weakest performer" when the series originally premiered in 1999.^[4] In 2006, however, fellow San Francisco Chronicle writer Jean Gonick, deemed Benson a suitable role model for teenage girls, calling her "courageous and strong, and unspeakably gorgeous",^[16] and writing that "Olivia Benson is our own special hero. She battles evil, avenges her mother, faces her demons but refuses to date them."^[16] In 2001, Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker criticized Benson and Stabler as "the most naive, bleeding-heart molester busters in America."^[17]

A poll on the Hallmark Channel voted her "Law & Order's" second-greatest detective, only being beaten by Robert Goren.

References

1. ^ https://twitter.com/#!/warrenleightTV/status/103444894693064705
2. ^ "Dick Wolf: Biography". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dick-wolf/bio/194137. 
3. ^ Kukoff, David (2006). Vault Guide to Television Writing Careers. Vault, Inc.. p. 71. ISBN 1581313713. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Carman, John (September 20, 1999). "Cops, Lawyers Ready to Roll Into Fall Season". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/09/20/DD101510.DTL&hw=Olivia+Benson&sn=004&sc=271. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} David, Greg (February 19, 2007). "Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay speaks!". MSN. http://entertainment1.sympatico.msn.ca/TV_Guide/Interviews/Insider/Articles/190207_mariskahargitay_GD. Retrieved 2009-05-12. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Paranoia". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. February 16, 2001. No. 14, season 2.
7. ^ The New York Times Television Reviews 2000. Routledge. 2001. p. 230. ISBN 1579580602. 
8. ^ In the Season 1 episode "Stalked"
9. ^ In the Season 2 episode "Consent"
10. ^ In the Season 3 episode "Prodigy"
11. ^ "My favorite scene: Mariska Hargitay". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.. March 2, 2007. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20013822,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
12. ^ B, Angie (May 2004). "SVU's Detective Benson Attracts Lesbian Fans". AfterEllen.com. http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/TV/svu.html. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
13. ^ Chonin, Neva (March 23, 2005). "With hot 'Law & Order' squad's focus on sex crime, suddenly everybody's watching the detectives". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/23/DDGHTBSLLF1.DTL. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Freydkin, Donna (November 27, 2006). "Hargitay has reasons to smile". USA Today. Gannett Company. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-11-27-hargitay_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
15. ^ "Mariska Hargitay on the positive effect of 'Law & Order'". Entertainment Tonight. October 14, 2005. http://www.etonline.com/tv/2005/10/35602/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-12. ^{[dead link]}
16. ^ ^{a b} Gonick, Jean (September 2, 2006). "'Law & Order' could do much for teen abstinence". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/02/DDG3BKSGJ31.DTL&hw=Olivia+Benson&sn=002&sc=546. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
17. ^ Tucker, Ken (December 10, 2001). "Review - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,187911,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 

External links

• Olivia Benson at the Internet Movie Database