Mariska Hargitay ‘Refuses to Retire’ From ‘Law & Order: SVU,’ Has a ‘Responsibility’ to the Crew

Olivia Benson isn’t going anywhere! After 25 seasons as the confidently compassionate NYPD cop on Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay has no plans to turn in her badge. “She refuses to retire and is prepared to take this show as far as she can go,” an insider exclusively tells Closer. “She doesn’t know what she’d do without SVU.”

Indeed her life is entirely wrapped up in the NBC show. In 2004, she wed actor Peter Hermann after meeting him on set. The couple have three kids (and she’s the godmother of one of former costar Christopher Meloni’s kids). “She is Olivia Benson, and Olivia Benson is her,” adds the insider. Her Joyful Heart Foundation even took on a cause close to Liv’s heart, ending sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. Not only that, but she’s tight with the drama’s crew. “She feels a responsibility to them,” says the insider. “They’d be out of a job without her.”