Mariska Hargitay has worn many looks as Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but one of them has a special fan inside the show. Showrunner Michele Fazekas says the shorter hair Hargitay wore in earlier seasons is her favorite version of Benson’s style.
Fazekas returned to SVU as showrunner in Season 27 after writing for the NBC drama from 2001 to 2006, so she has seen Benson’s hair evolve across the years. Speaking to NBC Insider, she said the short cut stood out immediately, even as Hargitay now wears a longer, softly waved style in recent seasons.
Why the short cut stuck
Fazekas did not hesitate when asked which look she loved most. “Oh my God, she’ll kill me. I love the short hair, and it’s not just because I have short hair,” she said, adding that Hargitay’s hair is “beautiful” and that the star now has “a little bob going.”
That look also connects back to the early Season 3 days, when Hargitay debuted a pixie cut that became one of the most talked-about style changes in the series. Hargitay herself has said she had hesitations about the haircut at the time, even though it helped define an era of Benson’s on-screen image.
Hargitay has changed her view over time
During SVU’s summer hiatus, Hargitay has been wearing a chic bob while making her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing. Fazekas said the look gave her déjà vu from the earlier seasons, when the pixie cut eventually grew into an ultra-chic bob.
Hargitay has also been candid about how much she has learned about styling over the years. In a 2023 interview with Allure, she said, “I love to play around and try new looks, but I’ve definitely had some hair crises over the years,” and admitted that she now knows “what works and what doesn’t” much faster than she once did.
That perspective comes after she said she was once worried about getting the role of Benson without approval for the haircut, and after she made mistakes with styling and color while experimenting. For Hargitay, the short hair may have been a tense moment at first, but it remains one of the most memorable Benson looks in the show’s history.