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NBC Insider Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Inside Stephanie March and Mariska Hargitay's Friendship: "An Absolute Delight"

The Law & Order: SVU icons seem just as close off-screen as on.

By Elizabeth Logan
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Of all the ADAs in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit history, one of the most memorable has to be Alexandra Cabot, played by Stephanie March. First appearing in Season 2, Cabot was instrumental in many of the cases during the early run of the show, and her character provided a nice female lawyer counterpart to Detective Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) female detective. 

How to Watch

Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC and Peacock.

Off-screen, March and Hargitay are good friends, and have remained in contact even after March left the series.

RELATED: Benson & Carisi's First SVU Scene Together Shows How Far They've Come

What Stephanie March loves about Mariska Hargitay

"She's an absolute delight to be around," March said of Hargitay in an interview with TODAY. "She's one of the funniest people I've ever met in my entire life. She has the best sense of humor and the show is not a great place to showcase that, but she cracks me up."

"I really believe in the power of female friendship and honesty and being vulnerable to one another and being able to raise each other up," she added. 

Stephanie March, Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni are all proud members of the L&O family

To celebrate 25 years of SVU, new and old faces from the franchise reunited for a party.

Christopher Meloni, who played Detective Elliot Stabler on SVU and now on his own spin-off, Organized Crime, posted a reel of some selfies with other actors, and commenters made it clear that even years later, there's so much love for Cabot. "ADA Alex MFing Cabot" wrote one. 

The same thing happened when March and Hargitay met up at an event in 2022. They posed for pictures together in almost-matching white dresses, which March posted with the caption, "We have to keep meeting like this. #LongTimeLove."

RELATED: Mariska Hargitay's Husband Can't Stop Smiling at Her in New Date Night Pics

Why Stephanie March left Law & Order: SVU

Cabot famously faked her own death to get away from a brutal gang that has it out for her in Season 5, Episode 4 ("Loss"). "[Law & Order] was a fantastic work experience, and I really miss the people quite a bit," March told TV Guide in 2004 following her departure.

"But, you know, you get to a point where you feel like, as a character, you kind of said everything you can say...It was my first on-camera job after college. I got really lucky and I thought, I just have to do a couple of more things before I get too comfortable. Perhaps all I need is a long break," she added. 

Clearly, this was true, as she returned from Witness Protection to take up her old job in Seasons 10 and 11...before leaving again, though she's since returned for guest appearances. And it sounds like she'd be up for more!