Series creator
Dick Wolf named his two lead detectives after his son, Elliot, and his daughter, Olivia. Wolf conceived Benson as a detective in the
Manhattan Special Victims Unit, which investigates
sex crimes. For the first 12 seasons of the show, she is partnered with
Elliot Stabler (
Christopher Meloni); after he resigns (offscreen) at the beginning of season 13, she is partnered with
Nick Amaro (
Danny Pino) until season 15, where Benson becomes the commanding officer of Manhattan SVU; first as Sergeant, then Lieutenant, and finally Captain.
Personality Benson is tough but
empathetic, getting emotionally involved in cases. Executive producer and head writer
Neal Baer has explained that Benson is "the empathetic, passionate voice for these victims,"
Family Born February 7, 1968, Benson was conceived by her mother's
rape. Her mother's rapist, Joseph Hollister, later committed suicide. A woman later reports to Benson that Lowe, who is in a
12-step program for his alcoholism, tried to make amends to her for drunkenly raping her six months earlier. Benson helps Lowe accept responsibility for what he did, and he pleads guilty to
sexual misconduct to spare his victim the trauma of a trial. Benson is a graduate of
Siena College. While there, she held a membership in a
sorority. In addition to
English, Benson speaks some
Italian,
Russian, some
Spanish and
French, and is able to recite the
Miranda warnings in at least two other languages. She owns a black 1965
Ford Mustang convertible, but rarely drives it. Benson had a younger half-brother named Simon Marsden (
Michael Weston). Simon, whom she found by illegally running her
DNA through the system, was a suspect in a rape case. However, his name was cleared after it is revealed that he was framed by Captain Julia Millfield (
Kim Delaney), who believed (incorrectly) that he sexually assaulted her sister when they were in high school. In the season 13 episode "Child's Welfare", Simon reveals to Benson that he is planning to marry a woman named Tracy (
Nicole Beharie), with whom he has a daughter and a stepson; he named his daughter Olivia after Benson. When the children are taken by the City because of Simon's criminal background, Benson calls defense attorney Bayard Ellis (
Andre Braugher), an old friend of hers, to help Simon and Tracy get the children back. When a judge denies the Marsdens custody of their children, Simon panics and kidnaps them. Ellis makes a deal to have Simon serve a 60-day sentence, knocking his charge down from kidnapping to a misdemeanor, custodial interference. One of the conditions of the reduced charges is that he must give up his custody petition and agree to visit his daughter only in a supervised setting for the next three years. Simon is reluctant, but Benson tells him that the deal is better than his daughter visiting him in jail. In the season 21 episode "Murdered at a Bad Address", Simon reaches out to Benson for the first time in years as his only remaining family, Tracy having left him and taken their children. She hesitantly agrees to meet with him, but when he doesn't show up, she leaves him a voicemail cutting him out of her life for good. Shortly afterward, he is found dead of a
heroin overdose; she feels responsible, believing that he overdosed out of despair after she disowned him. A year later, however, she learns that he was in fact murdered by a gang of prostitutes who rob and kill their clients with heroin and
fentanyl, which happened before Benson left that voicemail. In season 12, Benson is named the legal guardian of a young boy named Calvin Arliss (
Charlie Tahan). Calvin's mother, Vivian (
Maria Bello), abandons him and flees when Benson's investigation uncovers that Vivian (also a child of rape) may have killed her mother's rapist, Walter Burlock (
R. Lee Ermey). Vivian names Benson as Calvin's legal guardian. Calvin lives with her for a while, until she finds Vivian and her lover Sara Hoyt (
Kat Foster) have relapsed into drug use. Sara confesses to murdering Burlock before she is herself murdered by Calvin's father. Vivian revokes Benson's guardianship and sends Calvin to live with his grandparents in Vermont. Both Calvin and Benson are devastated by the separation. In season 13, she is seen with Calvin and his grandparents during or right before
Halloween. At the conclusion of the
season 15 finale, Benson becomes the court-appointed custodial guardian of Noah Porter, an orphaned baby (twins Bradley and Skyler Dubow). The appointment is for a trial period of one year, with the option to apply for legal adoption at the end of that period. Although the year is rocky due to Noah's health issues and the demands of her job, Benson grows to love Noah and begins formal adoption proceedings a year later. After taking custody of Noah, Benson learns that Noah's biological father is a pimp and serial rapist named John "Johnny D" Drake (
Charles Halford), who trafficked and raped Noah's mother, Ellie Porter (
Emma Greenwell). Ellie was later sold to another sex trafficker, Angel Perez (
Manny Pérez), who had her killed when she was going testify against him. Upon learning of his son, Drake sues for custody as a ploy to get out of prison, imperiling Benson's chances of adopting Noah. Benson's problems are solved when Drake is killed during a courtroom shootout, but she still occasionally worries that Noah has inherited his father's violent tendencies. At the end of the
season 19 premiere "Gone Fishin'" (first of ongoing appearance of
Ryan Buggle as an older Noah, following Jack Nawada-Braunwart in seasons 17–18), Benson learns that she is being investigated by the DA's office on suspicions of abusing Noah. The investigation is dropped in "Mood". In "Contrapasso", her lawyer Trevor Langan (
Peter Hermann, Hargitay's real-life husband) returns to tell her that Noah has a grandmother, Sheila Porter (
Brooke Shields), Ellie's mother. In "No Good Reason", Sheila brings Benson to family court, accusing her of being an unfit parent; the case is dismissed, but Benson agrees that it's in Noah's best interest that they stop fighting. In "Unintended Consequences", Benson lets Porter visit and spend time with Noah. At the end of "Intent", Benson gets a call from Sheila telling her that Noah has been kidnapped in the mall. In "Gone Baby Gone", it is revealed that Sheila was behind the kidnapping, and that she intends to take Noah to live with her in
Derry, New Hampshire. Benson goes to Sheila's cabin in
Franconia, New Hampshire to rescue Noah. When Sheila attacks her, Benson subdues her, arrests her, and takes Noah home. In the season 23 episode "Burning with Rage Forever", Noah tells her that he stood up to a bully who was picking on him and a
non-binary classmate. Benson tells Noah she is proud of him for standing up for himself and his friend.
Relationships Elliot Stabler Benson's partnership with Elliot Stabler is a major focal point of her character. The relationship has gone through many stages that have been major plot points of both
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and
Law & Order: Organized Crime. Hargitay has characterized Benson and Stabler's relationship as "very complicated". In an episode in which Stabler goes undercover to catch an animal-smuggling ring, Benson shows up at his house and tries to talk him out of it; when they are interrupted by Stabler's targets, she undresses and pretends to be a prostitute. Benson takes it hard when Stabler resigns from SVU (offscreen) in the 13th season opener, "Scorched Earth", and takes a while to warm up to her new partner,
Nick Amaro. Benson frequently mentions Stabler in both a professional and personal context; she tells the squad's newer detectives what Stabler would do in a given situation, and says more than once that she is "getting over someone". In the Season 22 episode "
Return of the Prodigal Son", Benson and Stabler see each other again for the first time in 10 years when Stabler's wife Kathy (
Isabel Gillies) is severely injured in a car bombing apparently meant for Stabler. Benson is forced to keep Stabler, who is now working in
Rome in an
organized crime task force, out of the investigation. They have a brief, quietly emotional conversation in which Benson tells him how hurt she was over the way he left SVU. When Kathy dies of her injuries, however, Benson puts her resentment aside to help her grieving friend get justice for his late wife. Upon renewing her relationship with Stabler, Benson recognizes that he is suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the bombing and Kathy's death. When she tries to talk to him about it, however, he becomes defensive and tells her to "back off". She ultimately joins Stabler's children in staging an intervention for him. He again rejects Benson's attempt to help him, but first blurts out that he loves her in front of his children.
Romantic relationships In season 1, Benson has a drunken one-night stand with one of her SVU colleagues, Detective
Brian Cassidy (
Dean Winters). Comments in the episode "
Disrobed" imply that the relationship continued. Cassidy leaves the precinct at the end of that episode. In the season 5 episode "Lowdown", it is revealed Benson had a relationship with a murder victim who turned out to be
gay and
HIV positive. Medical Examiner
Melinda Warner (
Tamara Tunie) immediately tests Benson and the results come back negative. In the season 9 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 comes out only because
Internal Affairs is 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". 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." Though never shown to have any confirmed romance, it was noted by 2012 that Benson's relationship with
Amanda Rollins could be seen as a potential lesbian romance. In the middle of season 13, Benson enters into a relationship with a new prosecutor to the District Attorney's Office,
Executive ADA David Haden (
Harry Connick Jr.). Hargitay has said that Connick, who is a friend of hers, improved the show to a more romantic advanced stance. "This is a home run on so many levels," she said. "The show is very fortunate to have Harry's extraordinary talent, and I'm lucky because I get to work with my friend. I think Olivia couldn't have asked for a better companion to take her through a new stage in her life and career." Haden and Benson begin their relationship at the end of the episode, "Official Story". In the episode "Hunting Ground", she decides to take it slow with Haden, claiming she needs time to see if their relationship will last. That night, they end up sleeping together in her apartment. This makes her late for a case, which is frowned upon in the NYPD. In the episode "
Justice Denied", Benson and Haden end their relationship due to a conflict of interest. In the season 14 premiere, Benson shares a kiss with Cassidy after she tells him she is not the same person from 13 years before, when they had a brief sexual relationship. Later that season, in the episode "Undercover Blue", it is revealed that Cassidy and Benson had been seeing each other for quite some time. Their relationship hits a rough patch in the episode when Cassidy is accused of rape, which results in their relationship becoming public. The charges against Cassidy are later dropped when the SVU detectives discover that he was being set up. In season 15, Benson stays with Cassidy as she recovers from her imprisonment by a serial rapist. A few months after she returns to work, they get a new apartment together. They break up in the episode "Downloaded Child", however, upon realizing that they want different things. They nevertheless remain on good terms, especially after Benson gives him the courage to testify against Gary Dolan (
William Sadler), the man who sexually abused him as a child. In "
Chicago Crossover" and "They'll Have to Go Through Me", Benson strikes up a friendship with Sergeant
Hank Voight (
Jason Beghe) of the
Chicago Police Department, despite their differing methodologies when it comes to solving crime. Upon the conclusion of their joint operation, the two share drinks before Benson returns to New York. It is suggested throughout
season 17 that Benson is in a relationship with Capt. Ed Tucker (
Robert John Burke) of Internal Affairs. In "Manhattan Transfer", they are forced to confirm their relationship when Tucker is accused – by his own cousin, a priest – of being complicit with a
sex trafficking ring that has ties to Vice and the Catholic Church. Tucker is eventually cleared, and he continues his relationship with Benson. In season 18, Tucker tries to convince Benson to retire with him, though at the conclusion of the episode "Next Chapter", Benson realizes she is not ready to do so, as being a cop and a mother are parts of who she is. As a result, Benson breaks up with Tucker at the end of the episode "Chasing Theo". Even though their relationship does not work out, however, Benson is still saddened when Tucker commits suicide after being diagnosed with an inoperable
brain tumor.
Sexual assault storylines In the season 9 episode "Undercover", Benson 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, Captain Lowell Harris (
Johnny Messner), attacks her and attempts to force her to perform
oral sex on him. She is rescued by SVU colleague
Fin Tutuola (
Ice-T), who gets there just in time to stop Harris from raping her. Later, Benson helps convict Harris by questioning his earlier victim about distinguishing features on his penis, prompting the victim to recall a mole on it, which Benson later explains to medical examiner
Melinda Warner (
Tamara Tunie) that she had also seen. When Warner asks Benson if she had been raped, she replies, "It was the closest I've ever come." In season 10, Benson 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 Tutuola. In the episode "PTSD," while investigating the rape and murder of a female
Marine, she is pushed against a wall while trying to break up a fight between suspect Master Sergeant Dominic Pruitt (
Ryan Kwanten) and Lieutenant Gary Rosten (
Dominic Fumusa), who is eventually revealed to be the killer. She subsequently breaks up the fight by holding her weapon to the back of Pruitt's head. Later, as he is being interrogated, Rosten tells Tutuola that, "That broad [Benson] has
PTSD, I would know that glassy-eyed look anywhere." At the end of the episode, after Rosten is imprisoned, Benson apologizes to Pruitt, admitting that she was a victim of sexual assault. In the season 11 episode "Perverted", Benson becomes the prime suspect in the sexual mutilation and murder of a biker gang member. As more evidence is found linking her to the crime, an Internal Affairs detective insinuates that she may have committed it while suffering from a flashback to the assault. The other detectives eventually discover that Benson has been framed by Brady Harrison (
Patrick Heusinger), a rapist she sent to prison years earlier.
William Lewis storyline At the end of the season 14 finale "Her Negotiation", Benson is kidnapped by serial rapist/murderer William Lewis (
Pablo Schreiber). During the season 15 premiere "Surrender Benson", Lewis makes her watch while he rapes and tortures the mother of his own attorney and kills a police officer who attempted to pull him over. He then holds her hostage for four days, burning her with cigarettes and wire hangers. Just as he is about to rape her, she breaks free, handcuffs him, and holds him at gunpoint. When he taunts her that she doesn't "have the balls" to kill him, she loses control and beats him within an inch of his life with an iron rod. She is rescued by her fellow detectives moments later, and Cragen puts her on mandatory leave so she can recover. She returns to work in the following episode, "Imprisoned Lives", which takes place two months later, but is still haunted by the experience. She begins seeing a therapist, Dr. Peter Lindstrom (
Bill Irwin), to cope with the trauma. It is later revealed that Lewis survived and is in prison awaiting trial. In "Psycho/Therapist", a visibly injured and still-recovering Lewis fires his new attorney and chooses to
represent himself. He calls Benson as a witness and accuses her of assaulting him because he rejected her sexual advances. She vehemently denies it, and
lies under oath that he had broken free of his restraints and lunged at her. Lewis is found guilty of kidnapping and assaulting a police officer, but the jury voices doubts about Benson's story and acquits him of attempted rape. The episode closes with Benson weeping on the courthouse stairs and, four months later, Lewis being wheeled away on a stretcher. In "Beast's Obsession", Lewis uses the distraction caused by his (self-induced) cardiac incident to escape from prison. He then rapes a teenage girl, kidnaps her younger sister, and threatens to kill her unless Benson tells the truth about her testimony. Benson holds a press conference and admits that she lied on the witness stand. When Lewis does not release the girl, Benson tracks him down and surrenders to him. With his hostage watching, Lewis at first attempts to rape Benson, but changes his mind when she refuses to show him fear; instead, he forces her to play
Russian roulette with him. As a police squad closes in, Lewis shoots himself in the head right in front of her, while making it look like she killed him in cold blood. In "Post-Mortem Blues", she is brought before a
grand jury to explain her admission and Lewis' death. Her career is threatened until SVU's temporary commanding officer, Lt. Declan Murphy (
Donal Logue), tells the grand jury that he instructed Benson to lie in her press conference, thus clearing her of Lewis' death and possible perjury charges. Murphy then makes Benson his second-in-command up until his transfer to an undercover assignment. In subsequent seasons, Lewis' name becomes a kind of code for an intensely dangerous situation, and Benson admits that her trauma and ordeal with him will always be a part of her. During a heated exchange with Amaro, he pointedly asks her whether she can ever forgive Lewis; she does not answer, and he apologizes.
Character development Hargitay has deemed the storyline which saw Benson find her paternal family "probably the biggest thing that's ever happened to Olivia". She feels her character is a role model for teenage girls, revealing: ==Service==