Mariska Hargitay Is Excited to Be Turning 60: ‘I’m Stronger Than I’ve Ever Been’ (Exclusive)

January 2024 will mark more than just the 25th anniversary Law and Order: Special Victims Unit for Mariska Hargitay.

The star, who plays SVU Captain Olivia Benson, turns 60 on January 23.

“I’m so excited. I announce it all the time,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “I’m proud of it. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.”

Not only is Olivia Benson now the longest-running character on the primetime drama with the show’s return on January 18, but this year also marks the 20th anniversary of her marriage to husband Peter Hermann and the 20th anniversary of Joyful Heart, the foundation she started in 2004 with a focus on healing and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.

Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson in ‘Law & Order: SVU’. Virginia Sherwood/NBC Mariska Hargitay celebrates 25 years Law and order: SVU and turns 60: ‘This powerful woman appeared’ (exclusive)

“I’ve never been afraid of getting old,” says Hargitay. “I didn’t get the role [on SVU] until I was 35, and then the show continued as I got older. At 45, we were in a relationship for ten years and I just met my husband [when Hermann had a guest role on the show.] The man of my dreams. I got married at 40. I had August [her eldest son] at 42. It was like defying all odds.”

She continues: “I won an Emmy [in 2006] and all these major things continued to happen. I didn’t take anything for granted. My beautiful children [she and Hermann adopted Amaya, 12, and Andrew, 12, in 2011.] And then, in my 50s, my foundation is on fire, and I’m on a show that matters, and I’m counting my lucky stars. How did I get here? And why does no one care how old I am?”

Martin Schoeller

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Hargitay calls it all “this beautiful sea change,” one of the many things she’s grateful for as she enters her next decade.

“A lot of things have happened to me, and none of them have defined me,” says Hargitay, who also shares the story of her sexual assault in a first-person essay for PEOPLE, “because my soul is evolving and I’m letting the butterfly spread its wings. ”

Those around her also celebrate her strength – and her heart.

Mariška Hargitay.

Martin Schoeller

Mariska Hargitay shares her experience in her own words: Rape. Calculation. Renewal (exclusive)

“A vital aspect of what survivors find at the center of Joyful Heart is Mariska’s own fierce and determined heart, deeply engaged in the effort to bring about healing and change,” says Robyn Mazur, Executive Director of Joyful Heart.

“The foundation, while heavily focused on legislative and policy change, is and always will be focused at its core on healing,” she adds. “Critical to our mission is to always let survivors lead—a sentiment she taught us Mariska alone.”

For more on Mariska Hargitay, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

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