This article discusses sensitive topics including sexual assault, substance abuse, and suicide.

For over twenty years, the cast of “Law & Order: SVU” has been bringing the stories of sexual assault survivors to the forefront, all while dealing with their own complex and often tragic personal lives. Despite achieving fame and fortune through the series, the actors have not been immune to life’s hardships.

Some cast members have unfortunately encountered incidents as distressing as those faced by their fictional counterparts in the NYC Special Victims Unit. They have also dealt with legal issues, significant health challenges, and the loss of loved ones. Here’s a look at some of the most heartbreaking experiences faced by the “SVU” cast.

Mariska Hargitay, who has portrayed Detective Olivia Benson since 1999, is central to “Law & Order: SVU,” a role that has earned her eight consecutive Emmy nominations and a win in 2006. Her professional achievements have provided some relief from a challenging past. At just three years old, Hargitay endured the loss of her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, in a devastating car accident. Hargitay was in the vehicle at the time, surviving after being wedged beneath the passenger seat. Her sorrow was further complicated by mixed feelings regarding her mother’s glamorous persona. Reflecting on this with Vanity Fair in May 2025, Hargitay revealed, “I just wanted my mom to be like the other moms. Like, why are you always in a bathing suit? … I just wanted a maternal mother image.”

Mariska Hargitay has starred on “Law & Order: SVU” since 1999. Hargitay’s character, Detective Olivia Benson, is the beating heart of the procedural, which earned her eight consecutive Emmy nominations and a win in 2006. Hargitay’s onscreen success has been a silver lining to a particularly difficult past. Her troubles started at the tender age of three years old, when she lost her mother, actor Jayne Mansfield, in a fatal car accident; Hargitay was in the back seat, lodged beneath the passenger seat after the wreck. However, her grief was compounded by the conflicting emotions she held about her late mother’s bombshell image. “I just wanted my mom to be like the other moms,” Hargitay admitted to Vanity Fair in May 2025. “Like, why are you always in a bathing suit? … I just wanted a maternal mother image.”

While Hargitay was eventually able to reconcile her conflicting emotions about her late mother and produce a documentary, “My Mom Jayne,” which honored her life and legacy, she endured more troubles later in life. Unfortunately, the beloved star walked the same path as the fictional characters she seeks justice for on “Law & Order: SVU.” Hargitay was the victim of rape. “That was my own parallel journey with shame and not wanting to carry that anymore,” she revealed to Vanity Fair about the incident involving a friend.

Hargitay delved deeper into her tragic encounter in a personal essay for People. She spoke about the bond she’s built with “SVU” fans, who find the sensitive material cathartic. “Survivors who’ve watched the show have told me I’ve helped them and given them strength,” she said. “But they’re the ones who’ve been a source of strength for me.”

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Christopher Meloni left “Law & Order: SVU” after 12 seasons, eventually leading his own show with “Law & Order: Organized Crime.” Like Olivia Benson, his character, Detective Elliot Stabler, was lauded for his dedication to seeking justice for victims of ghastly crimes, and he remains a fan favorite to this day. In his personal life, Meloni has encountered various trials. 

One of Meloni’s most public incidents was his family’s long battle with Lyme disease, which is often transmitted through tick bites. According to Meloni, it took a long time to identify their problem, but a proper diagnosis was only the first step to recovering from the disease, which can usher in unpleasant symptoms like body aches and brain fog. “For those who are witnessing it, you are quite literally watching the people you love being tortured before your eyes,” he shared with Today in 2024.

Although Meloni’s family member is on the mend, the actor experienced a personal loss when his friend passed away in June 2025. He took to Instagram to announce the death of his beloved pet, a rescue dog he affectionately dubbed Lidder Midder. “He had cancer and was given 1 month to live,” wrote the star, adding, “He gave us 3- he was a giver.” He continued, “14 years was a good run, and in the words of Jon Stewart, ‘in a world of good boys, Scotty was the best.’ It is never easy… Godspeed Lidder Midder.”

Ice-T plays the role of Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, a no-nonsense sergeant (and former detective) in the Special Victims’ Unit. Though his contributions decreased significantly in 2025, he’s maintained a constant presence on the show since 2000. Unfortunately, Ice-T, who was previously involved in a life of crime, has waded through rather rough waters in his life.

The rap star’s life started out tragically, with Ice-T losing both of his parents at a young age. “Early in my life, I dealt with my trauma,” he revealed to We TV in 2019. “My mother passed when I was in the third grade, and my father ended up passing with I’m in the seventh grade. So I’m an orphan, and I have been on my own since I was 17.” He also revealed that his name was inspired by the persona he took on amid the tragedy. “You become, I would call it cold. And that’s how you get named Ice.”

Although Ice-T eventually turned his life around and forged a respectable path as a rapper and TV star, he still encountered tragedy. The “SVU” star lost two close friends, fellow celebs Coolio and Michael K. Williams, to drug use back-to-back. “I knew Coolio since he started rapping,” he shared with People in August 2025. “He was out with me. I took him on tour. He was one of my closer friends in hip-hop who went off to do his thing and blow up.” As for Williams, “I was planning on working with him on projects that we had written and talked about,” he said. Both stars died of suspected Fentanyl poisoning, the topic of “Fame and Fentanyl,” a documentary Ice-T narrated for A&E.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

From 1999 until 2016, Richard Belzer played Detective Munch on “Law & Order: SVU.” Wisecracking and surly, Belzer’s portrayal of Munch was often a highlight of the beloved franchise. Unsurprisingly, Belzer’s Season 15 departure sparked outrage and mourning from the “SVU” community, but it was far from the hardest thing he ever dealt with. Both Belzer’s father and brother died by suicide, and his mother was reportedly abusive, all of which shaped his hard personality.

In 1984, years before “SVU” was even a concept, Belzer received the devastating news that he had testicular cancer. Although Belzer’s cancer eventually went into remission, his diagnosis inspired him to advocate for the widespread use of medical marijuana, which helps ease the debilitating side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. “When I had cancer and was radiated, my doctor recommended marijuana,” he shared with Westword in September 2010. “People need to get educated, whether they’re suffering or if they know someone is suffering.” Belzer also stressed that medical marijuana wasn’t meant as a means to get high, saying, “It’s about restoring balance to your body and replenishing yourself.”

Belzer survived for nearly four more decades. Unfortunately, the 78-year-old actor died of natural causes in February 2023. “He had lots of health issues,” Belzer’s friend told The Hollywood Reporter. However, his signature sass was present right up until the end. “His last words were, ‘F*** you, motherfu**er,’” they said.

For more than a decade, BD Wong played FBI forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang, whose empathetic nature helped ease the pain of the traumatized patients he sat with each week. Unfortunately, Wong was not without his own trauma. In 2000, a surrogate gave birth to Wong’s twin boys prematurely, with only one surviving. As Wong relayed to Advocate, his son, Boaz Dov Wong, died due to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which occurs when one twin relies on the other for blood flow while in the womb. Jackson Wong, the other baby, survived, but only after receiving life-saving care in the neonatal unit for three harrowing months.

“When Jackson was admitted he was in very critical condition. With twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, his mortality rate was between 60 and 100 percent,” revealed Jackson’s physician, Dr. Stacey Levitt (per The New York Times). Levitt added, “Also, part of his intestines became necrotic and had to be removed. So, he was extremely sick.”

Wracked with anxiety and uncertainty, Wong and his partner, Richie Jackson, turned to email to update their circle about Jackson’s progression, often using humor to soften the blow. In May 2003, Wong published the correspondences (which ballooned into the thousands), resulting in his acclaimed book, “Following Foo: The Electronic Adventures of Chestnut Man.”