Mariska Hargitay Back On Set
Jan. 26 2009, Published 7:31 a.m. ET
Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay returned to the set today for the first time since suffering a collapsed lung during the show's hiatus over the holidays.
The Emmy-winning actress, who has played detective Olivia Benson in the long-running TV drama since 1999, was back in action at a studio in North Bergen, N.J. And today (Monday 1-26) cast and crew celebrated her return to action at a studio in North Bergen, N.J.
Mariska's driver told us: "She's in there shooting and she's going to be in there late tonight." A florist from Fort Lee, N.J., was also seen delivering a large "welcome back" bouquet basket for Mariska, who celebrated her 45th birthday on Jan. 23.
Earlier this afternoon, a set-sider remarked: "Mariska's back working. It goes without saying that we're overjoyed."
Her SVU co-star Richard Belzer had said on The View that Mariska "had a little accident sledding" over the holidays. But her reps denied that was the cause of her problem and wouldn't give a specific cause for her collapsed lung. Her reps did say she was expected to make a full recovery and would appear in all episodes for the rest of the season.
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Reports have said friends of Mariska were praying her collapsed lung wouldn't disrupt her plans to have a second child.
In the January issue of Ladies' Home Journal, Mariska said she and husband Peter Hermann, 41, wanted another child. "We're trying," she said.
The couple's first child, a boy named August, was born in June 2006.