Mariska Hargitay is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Hargitay has also appeared in the films Lake Placid and The Perfect Weapon, as well as the series The Gambler V: Playing For Keeps. Beyond her television work, she has appeared in the documentaries I Am Evidence and My Beautiful Stutter, the latter of which she also produced. She also directed the documentary My Mom Jayne.