It’s easy to be dazzled by the eye-popping salaries of top-earning actors and assume that everyone in the industry is swimming in money. However, acting salaries, especially on TV, can vary widely. While film roles often boast more impressive paychecks, TV stars can amass substantial incomes through consistent, long-term work. Yet, just like anyone else, actors face career slumps and sometimes take lower-paying jobs on their way to stardom.
Mariska Hargitay, renowned for her role as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, has seen her salary grow significantly over the years. So, just how much is she making per episode now that the series has been running for so long?
Mariska Hargitay Joins Law & Order: SVU in 1999
Dick Wolf’s Law & Order franchise is a powerhouse in the entertainment industry. The original Law & Order series premiered in 1990 and ran for 456 episodes before concluding in 2010. The franchise has produced several spinoffs, with varying levels of success. In 1999, Law & Order: SVU premiered, focusing on sex offenses and child victims in New York City. The show has since outlasted its predecessor and is now one of the longest-running crime series on television. It was renewed for its 24th season, expected to air in fall 2022.
Hargitay has starred in the series from the beginning, playing Detective Olivia Benson. For many years, she worked alongside Christopher Meloni’s Detective Elliot Stabler. When Meloni left the show after the 12th season due to a contract dispute, Hargitay’s role as Benson became even more crucial for the show’s continuity.
Detective Olivia Benson Defines Mariska Hargitay’s Career
The role of Detective Olivia Benson was a major breakthrough for Hargitay. Her filmography reveals that she started acting in the mid-1980s, but it took time for her to gain momentum. She worked her way through small parts and little-known TV movies before landing guest appearances on series like Baywatch, Seinfeld, and Ellen. In 1995, she secured a recurring role in the TV show Can’t Hurry Love, and in 1997, she landed a significant recurring part on the popular ER.
When she took on the role of Detective Olivia Benson a few years later, her career trajectory changed dramatically. Since then, Hargitay has almost exclusively portrayed the New York detective, bringing the character to life in crossover episodes for Dick Wolf’s Chicago P.D. and even on an episode of Saturday Night Live.
It’s rare for an actor to focus so intently on a single role, but for Hargitay, it has been incredibly rewarding — both personally and financially. With an impressive net worth of $100 million, her success is largely attributed to her work on the crime series.
Initially, Hargitay couldn’t command top dollar for her role, but as the show gained a dedicated fan base and continued to thrive, her paycheck grew substantially. According to StyleCaster, Hargitay’s salary since at least 2018 has been an astonishing $540,000 per episode.
Beyond her acting career, Hargitay has made significant contributions through her charity, the Joyful Heart Foundation, which she established in 2004 to support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.
Mariska Hargitay’s journey from struggling actress to one of TV’s highest-paid stars is a testament to her talent, perseverance, and dedication to her craft.
