She plays Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which is the longest running US live action series on television.

And revealed that people used to call her the 'accidental activist' after she founded her foundation to help victims of domestic violence five years after landing the role as Olivia, she said in her cover story for .

The 56-year-old actress said: 'I didn't take this job on SVU to do this work.

Incredible: Mariska Hargitay revealed that people used to call her the 'accidental activist' after she founded her foundation to help victims of domestic violence five years after landing the role as Olivia, she said in her cover story for People magazine 

The star said she realized how powerful it was to listen, something her character did on the show, and how it made a difference to real life survivors.

The mother of three, who trained as a rape crisis counselor, Mariska founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004; It is a nonprofit organization that supports survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Five years later, the actress learned of the staggering number of untested rape kits in the US and made her nonprofit's End The Backlog initiative a top priority,

She said of the amount of untested rape kits: 'I couldn't believe that this could happen.

Strength: The 56-year-old actress said: 'I didn't take this job on SVU to do this work. But I think I was meant to do this;' seen with Peter Scanavino and Kelli Giddish

The TV star, who is the daughter of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay, teamed up with rape activist and Michigan prosecutor Kym Worthy to tackle the project.

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