Stephanie March Reveals Law & Order: SVU Storyline That Sparked Her Real Life Passion (Exclusive)

For Stephanie March, life has truly imitated art.

The actress is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Assistant District Attorney Alex Cabot on NBC Law and order: SVUa character she played in more than 100 episodes during the show’s eight years.

But it was a unique episode from 2010 that spoke to March in particular – and still does.

In “Witness,” Cabot leaves her job in New York and goes to the Democratic Republic of Congo after a particularly difficult case convinces her that she must help women and girls who have been sexually exploited in Africa.

Stephanie March as Alexandra Cabot in ‘Law & Order: SVU’.

Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

While speaking with PEOPLE, March immediately recalls that episode.

“Yes! When I went to the Congo? I remember it very clearly. And that kind of stuck in my head then. And so I have to believe that to some extent everything happens for a reason. That’s part of the reason why I was so interested in the Foundation Panzi,” she says of her off-screen decision to work with an organization that seeks to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war while also supporting survivors in the DR Congo.

Stephanie March says ‘Yes!’, she would like to say it again Law and order: SVU The role of Alex Cabot (exclusive)

“I felt that my passion was really advocating for women and girls who have survived sexual violence and how sexual violence robs us of the autonomy of our bodies, and often our legal rights and our right to work,” says March, who also serves on the board of the Panzi Foundation. .

March recalls the first landing ALL appearance in 2000 (Cabot was a series regular from seasons 2 to 5, and March continued to reprise the role until 2018), and while he now jokes that the show might have “some kind of future-telling or time-traveling device — ALL Oracle!” she says, the experience really affected her.

“I’m not sure that when I got the job I intended it to happen, but when I got the job I became quite intentional about it because I found the subject matter disturbing and compelling. It just wasn’t something I could put down when I got home from work at night,” she explains.

“So I’ve become quite deliberate in my choices about how I want to participate and how I want to use my voice,” she adds. “I’ve been lucky enough to find a few places where those interests intersect, and I’m very passionate about it.”

Stephanie March as Alexandra Cabot and Mariska Hargitay as Lt. Olivia Benson in ‘Law & Order: SVU’.

Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/getty

March also serves on the board of OneKid OneWorld, an organization dedicated to increasing access to education and opportunities for women and girls, particularly in Kenya and Central America.

“It’s all really part of the same philosophy, which is women and girls in school, women and girls empowered to have bodily autonomy, women and girls in positions of government and power so they can be in charge of legislation and their communities and their own lives,” says March.

“I feel very deeply about that. There are 1 billion people in Africa under the age of 25, which to me is an incredible number. Because the future is here — all these bright, young, smart, interesting, motivated people. I feel like the world will be like that in 25 years, and supporting young women in that part of the world means creating a future that I wish we had more of now.”

Stephanie March.

Melanie Dune

As for her own future, this year alone marks a major turning point not only for March, who will celebrate her 50th birthday on July 23, but for ALL and the Panzi Foundation.

“ALL is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and Panzi is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and I think, well, that makes it 50. That makes me,” March reflects. “So I’m in the right place at the right time.”

Law and orderLongtime lead actress Mariska Hargitay (Olivia Benson) became one of Marcha’s closest friends in real life as well, even though the pair didn’t actually meet on the set of the show.

Stephanie March and Mariska Hargitay at the 2024 Gotham TV Awards.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Mariska Hargitay reflects on the role of Olivia Benson ALL at the Gotham TV Awards: ‘The Unstoppable Lioness’

“I had the youngest role in a play called Death of a salesman [in 1999]. I was in Chicago and it was transferred to Broadway, and I was lucky enough to go to New York with it. And she came backstage—she got the part and they started filming, or maybe it was even the first season—but she saw the play and she came backstage to say hello to Brian Dennehy,” March Hargitay recalls.

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“A thousand people came backstage, all these actors, but this woman that no one really knew yet stopped me in my tracks. I thought, ‘Oh my God, this woman is so present.’ I mean, she was just magnetic. I remember thinking, ‘Who is this person?’ And then a year later, it’s Mariska and that’s it ALL. And since then it really has that glow. She is simply striking.”

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Source: HIS Education