Mariska Hargitay Discovered That Her Most 'Powerful' Self Emerged on Eve of 60th Birthday

Mariska Hargitay is less than two weeks away from turning 60 on Jan. 23 and she’s not sweating the new decade one bit. She’s eagerly looking forward to it because it’s given her a newfound sense of freedom in this spectacular season of life.

She explained to People, “I’m so proud of it and I’m grateful. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.” She believes a lot of her strength has come from playing New York City police detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for 25 years. She was the co-lead with Christopher Meloni, who played Elliot Stabler until his exit in 2011, and now she’s officially the star. That’s when a new side to her work and her personal life began to blossom.

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“As I became more comfortable with the character, you saw this powerful woman emerge,” Hargitay noted. “In a way it was a rebirth, and that was powerful and exciting and beautifully uncomfortable to reckon with one’s own power.” The TV superstar will also get the bragging rights of portraying the longest-running character on a primetime drama when the NBC series returns on Jan. 18 — that’s quite a feat!

“We’ve been on a parallel journey,” she shared. “There’s a thing WWOBD: What would Olivia Benson do? The fans would always talk about it, and one day it hit me. I also have those moments where I’ve sort of slipped into her. If there’s a crisis, I just take over and lead like that. Being strong and fearless. It’s sort of this perfect feminist story.”

Hargitay, whose mom, Jayne Mansfield, died at the age of 34 in a car crash, knows that turning 60 years old is an absolute gift. She gets the gift of life to raise her three children, August, 17; Amaya, 12; and Andrew, 11, with husband Peter Hermann. As a close pal told Closer magazine, “Turning 60 represents something big to her.”

Before you go, click here to see actresses over 50 who are more successful now than ever.

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