Mariska Hargitay To Get Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Hargitay will have her hands imprinted on Hollywood Boulevard in a special ceremony on November 8. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and close friend Hilary Swank will present the Emmy nominee with the award.
Mariska Hargitay’s star will be placed next to her late mother’s, actress Jayne Mansfield. The elder Mansfield, who died in a car accident on June 29, 1967, received her star on February 8, 1960.
The 49-year-old has been playing Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU for 15 seasons. The fate of her character was left hanging in the air during the season 14 finale, which found Liv staring down the barrel of a gun before the screen faded to black.
Hargitay was still in contract negotiations when the series was renewed for its 15th season in April, which left fans wondering if she would survive the encounter. While the financial terms of Hargitay’s deal haven’t been disclosed, she was making $500,000 per episode last season, making her the highest-paid actress on television.
Hargitay is one of the last original cast members left on SVU. Her former co-star Christopher Meloni, who played Detective Elliot Stabler, left the series in 2011 after he failed to come to terms on a new contract. Meloni landed a role on True Blood shortly after leaving SVU.
Richard Belzer, who played Detective — and later Sergeant — John Munch appeared in his final episode, “Wonderland Story,” on October 16. The character of John Munch has appeared in more television series than any other character. Belzer first played the role on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1999. He appeared in four episodes of the original Law & Order from 1996 to 2000, and became a regular cast member on SVU in 1999 after Homicide was canceled. Munch has also appeared on The Beat,Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Arrested Development, and X-Files.
Although Belzer’s character retired in “Wonderland Story,” he will reportedly return for guest appearances.
Mariska Hargitay, who is the president and founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to women who have been sexually abused, joined Vice President Joe Biden at the National Domestic Violence Hotline in Austin, Texas, Wednesday. Hargitay said she was “deeply honored” to join Biden in “shining a light on the tremendous work” being done by the Hotline.
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