Mariska Hargitay on 'Law & Order: SVU' cast micpronouncing her name

By Geo News Digital Desk
October 27, 2025

Mariska Hargitay reveals how she makes sure 'Law & Order: SVU' cast pronounces her name correctly

Mariska Hargitay reveals clever way to prevent mispronunciation of name on 'Law & Order: SVU' set

Mariska Hargitay’s colleagues still mispronounce her name, and the actress has come up with a way to correct them.

Mariska, whose name is pronounced Ma-rish-ka, appeared on Good Hang With Amy Poehler. The actress shared that even after 26 seasons of Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit, her collogues on the set still pronounce her name as "Maritza, Marcika, Markiska." However, Christopher Meloni purposefully calls her Maritza.

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"How badly have people screwed up your name?” host Amy Poehler asked the TV legend.

"Oh, I still live with it," Mariska, 61, remarked.

"Who was it last night? Oh, I had a brunch yesterday for my sister and my cousin was there — I’ve known him from 1994 — and he kept calling me Ma-riss-ka. At one point, I go, ‘Ma—’ and then I said, ‘No, just let it go,'" she recalled.

To correct her colleagues, Mariska, who has played Captain Olivia Benson since 1999, came up with an effective strategy.

"It happens on set a lot. Now, on the call sheet, it’s M-A-R-I-S-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-K-A. That’s how I put it on the call sheet, just so people go, ‘Oh, got it, she’s big on the Hs,'" Mariska Hargitay shared.


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