Where would Law & Order: Special Victims Unit be without the beloved Mariska Hargitay?

Hargitay has been kicking criminal butt as Olivia Benson since Law & Order: SVU‘s 1999 premiere, and fans never tire of watching her deliver justice. Hargitay was 35 years old when she first joined the elite squad, and with nearly three decades behind her, she’s made television history as one of the longest-running stars of a primetime drama.

Sure, Benson may be the fearless Captain of the Manhattan SVU, but it wasn’t always the case. Viewers have watched Benson grow from one of the squad’s greatest detectives into a steadfast sergeant, until she was eventually promoted to the indomitable commanding officer of her longtime post. But once upon a time, Benson was still a budding investigator finessing the art of landing convictions with her partner Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), with viewers instantly falling in love with young Hargitay and her portrayal of the SVU sweetheart.

Throughout Season 27 of SVU, Benson has been reflecting on her trajectory on the squad, so let’s take a look back on Hargitay’s debut season.

Meet Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU Season 1

Despite SVU‘s dark subject matter, that didn’t stop Hargitay from emerging as a procedural heartthrob in her debut season as Detective Olivia Benson, stealing hearts with the hallmark magnetism she inherited from her Hollywood bombshell mother, the late Jayne Mansfield.

 Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni’s iconic SVU partnership began in 1999

Hargitay and Meloni are a nostalgic jolt for longtime SVU fans who have enjoyed watching the former partners Benson and Stabler for years of criminal cases. Now that Stabler has returned on Law & Order: Organized Crime, the duo has reunited on several occasions, often looking back on their early days at the SVU. Many things have changed over the past two decades, but the love for Bensler is timeless.

Mariska Hargitay rocked a chic bob as Detective Benson in SVU Season 1

Mariska Hargitay as Benson with her Law & Order: SVU’s Season 1 cast mates

It wouldn’t be an homage to Hargitay’s Season 1 journey on Law & Order: SVU without a photo with her former squad mates: Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer), and Meloni’s Detective Elliot Stabler. (Ice T’s Fin Tutuola notably arrived in SVU‘s sophomore season and has stuck around ever since). From the jump, Benson committed herself to the grind to become the squad’s greatest asset, with her Season 1 commitment a small taste of the commanding prescience she would become.