The National Museum of American History Collects Mariska Hargitay’s Costume From ‘Law & Order: SVU’
The Smithsonian museum accepted a detective suit and badge worn by the actress’ character, Olivia Benson, on the long-running procedural
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Since 1999, Mariska Hargitay has starred as detective Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” known to audiences as “SVU.”
For the millions of viewers who’ve watched the police procedural over the last quarter century, its opening narration, which lays out the premise of the show, has proven indelible: “In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.”
Through a rotating cast of recurring characters and guest actors, Hargitay’s Benson has always been the heart of the show’s detective unit.
At a ceremony on September 9, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History accepted one of Benson’s outfits into its collections. Hargitay wore the shirt, jeans, boots, earrings, belt, blazer and gold detective’s shield during the March 2024 episode “Third Man Syndrome,” in which her character, now Captain Benson, helps an agoraphobic witness.
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“Law & Order: SVU,” entering its 26th season in October, is currently the longest-running live-action series in prime time on American television. Hargitay’s Benson is also the longest-running drama character on prime-time television. In 2006, she became the first series regular actor from a “Law & Order” show to win an Emmy, taking home the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 2004, she founded the Joyful Heart Foundation to support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.
During the costume donation ceremony, both Hargitay and “Law & Order: SVU” creator and executive producer Dick Wolf spoke about the show’s place in American pop culture history.
The show has been around for a long time and received many honors, “but nothing tops this,” Wolf said, “the first time that I’ve felt that the show has cultural permanence.”
Hargitay expressed how honored she was to play her character, be on the show and support survivors through her foundation.
“It is my profound hope that what is being enshrined here with this donation is the act of listening; the act of paying deep and purposeful attention to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse,” Hargitay said at the ceremony. “Why must we listen? Why is the act of listening worthy of a place in the Smithsonian? Why is it so vital to the American story? Because in listening, we are participating in the act of healing. We all know that on an intuitive level. Because listening gives survivors space and time and freedom to speak out, enabling them to dispel the darkness that surrounds sexual and domestic violence. These crimes thrive in darkness. Speaking and listening sheds light.”
Hargitay concluded the ceremony by addressing survivors directly: “We are listening and your stories matter in the full story of this country. We hear you, we believe you and your healing is our priority.”