Mariska Hargitay Stuns in All-Black Look With Statement Chain Collar as She’s Honored at Event

TODAY -- Pictured: Mariska Hargitay on Thursday, January 18, 2024 -- (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

Mariska Hargitay rocked a stunning all-black look when she arrived at Variety’s annual Power of Women event in New York City on Thurs., May 2.

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star was one of four honorees at this year’s event, which took place at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Brazilian singer/songwriter Anitta, showrunner Shonda Rhimes and comedian Amy Schumer were also recognized at the event.

When Hargitay, 60, arrived, she posed for photographers dressed in an all-black ankle-length dress that featured a narrow slit and large sleeves that stretched past her elbows. She paired the dress with matching black heels and a statement silver chain collar that glittered in contrast with her dress.

Hargitay has starred as Detective Olivia Benson on the hit NBC police procedural for the entire run of the show, which celebrated the premiere of its 25th season in January. Actress Glenn Close recognized Hargitay’s duration on the show at the event while delivering a heartwarming speech introducing her friend, who was honored for her work advocating for survivors of sexual assault.

“As an actor, I am astounded that after 25 years as Olivia Benson, Mariska is still relevant,” Close told those in attendance. “She is still fresh and captivating, at the top of her game. She still finds the heart, the art and the power in her craft. I am in total awe. She is passion, she is empathy, she is ferocity. She is love.”

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Close’s introduction had Hargitay in tears when she stepped onstage to deliver her own speech, which lasted nearly 20 minutes. Once her voice steadied enough to enable her to speak, the SVU actress touched upon the work of the Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization she founded in 2004 that seeks to change the way society responds to sexual assault and other violent acts.

Hargitay, who released a statement last week condemning a New York court’s recent decision to overturn Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, also addressed her own stance on “reversing” certain “convictions.”

“Today I want to talk about reversing convictions—and, more specifically, I want to talk to you about how impossible it is to reverse mine,” the actress said. "It’s impossible to reverse my conviction that survivors matter. It is impossible to reverse my conviction that what happens to us matters, that our society must respond to survivors in a more compassionate, holistic, deeper and a more nuanced understanding of what healing means.

"It is impossible to reverse my conviction that, after a trauma, survivors can reclaim lives of hope, of possibility, of audacious risk, beautiful intimacy and glorious, glorious abundant joy," Hargitay continued. "And I stand before you as evidence of that statement.”

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