Det. Olivia "Liv" Benson is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. She is the former partner of Elliot Stabler. In Season 13, her partner is primarily Nick Amaro. According to showrunner Warren Leight, however, the show has more of an "ensemble feel" in the thirteenth season.

Series creator Dick Wolf has a daughter named Olivia and a son named Elliot, for whom he named the two lead detectives in the series. Wolf conceived Benson as a detective in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes. She is partnered with Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). She is tough, empathetic, and gets emotionally involved in cases. Executive producer and head writer Neal Baer has explained that she is "the empathetic, passionate voice for these victims", in contrast to Stabler, who embodies "the rage we feel, the 'How can this happen?' feeling". Of their partnership, Baer assessed that: "They both represent the feelings that we feel simultaneously when we hear about these cases. That's why they work so well together."

Det. Elliot "El" Stabler is a fictional character on the TV crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Christopher Meloni. He was the partner of Olivia Benson before retiring, following a shooting.

Stabler was a NYPD detective with Manhattan's 16th Precinct, which investigates sex crimes. His partner for over 12 years was Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Stabler was dedicated to his job, but this dedication occasionally turned into obsession; he often took cases personally, thus affecting his judgement. Nonetheless, Stabler had a 97 percent case closure rate.

Stabler is Irish. Stabler lives at 72-12 Castleside Street in the Glen Oaks section of Queens with his wife and five children (Maureen, Kathleen Louise, Richard "Dickie", Elizabeth "Lizzie" and Elliot "Eli" Jr.). He is a devout Catholic whose faith sometimes complicates the cases he works on. In the episode "Annihilated", it is suggested that he was a hand-to-hand combat specialist while he served in the United States Marine Corps. Elliot is a Desert Storm veteran. He also has three tattoos, notably the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor tattoo on his forearm, the official emblem of the Marine Corps, and the crucifixion of Christ on his left biceps. Stabler was born October 20, 1966, as established in Season 6's "Contagious". Stabler's badge number is 6313. One of Elliot's best friends died in the World Trade Center. In the Season 12 episode "Penetration", he is shot once again during a case involving undercover FBI agent Dana Lewis (Marcia Gay Harden), making it the third time he was injured while on a case involving her.

Mariska Hargitay ( /məˈrɪʃkə ˈhɑrɡɨteɪ/ mə-RISH-kə HAR-gi-tay; born Mariska Magdolna Hargitay; January 23, 1964) is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.

The daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield and actor/bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, Hargitay is a former beauty queen who made her film debut in the 1985 horror-comedy film Ghoulies, and her major television debut in the 1986 adventure drama series Downtown. She appeared in numerous roles in film and television shows throughout the late 1980s and 1990s before being cast as Olivia Benson, a role that led to her founding the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to women who have been sexually abused.

Hargitay was born at St. John's Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actress and 1950s-era sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. Her father was the Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. Her first and middle names are Hungarian and refer to Mary Magdalene (Mariska is a diminutive of Mary). Her family name means "of Hargita". Hargitay was raised Roman Catholic. She has two older brothers.

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in late 2008. Buoyed by the chart success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless attracted a crossover audience and became the top-selling album of 2009. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Fearless also received Album of the Year plaudits at the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, making it the most awarded album in country music history. In 2010, Swift released her third album, Speak Now, which sold over one million copies in its first week. She then embarked on the 111-date Speak Now World Tour, which was attended by over 1.6 million fans and has become one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift is currently recording her fourth studio album, due for release in the fall of 2012.