The last remaining original character from the first season of Law and Order SVU, Lieutenant Olivia Benson has featured in all 19 seasons of the show. She’s risen through the ranks to become the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit.
A child born of rape, Olivia was raised by an alcoholic, abusive mother which gives her the ability to sympathise deeply with the victims of sex crimes. It’s both a plus and a minus in her job, and it’s put her in serious danger on more than one occasion. She’s affected deeply when a victim lies to her.
Her compassion for women has sometimes clouded her judgement. She’s skeptical when it comes to women perpetrators and male victims, and she was once so convinced of a man’s guilt that she forced his confession to a crime he was innocent of.
One of Benson’s finest moments was escaping from serial killer William Lewis who kidnapped her and held her for days as his sex slave, proving herself to be a total badass.
See Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU on Universal Channel’s Autumn of Crime Fighters.