Career: In 1982, Hargitay won the Miss Beverly Hills pageant. A year later, she first appeared in Falcon Crest, becoming a cast regular in 1988. She made her big-screen debut in 1985's Ghoulies. Various movies and TV series followed, including Downtown, Jocks, Baywatch, thirtysomething and The Advocate's Devil. Playing Dr Greene's love interest in several episodes of ER in the late 1990s finally got her noticed, and led to a starring role in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, which began in 1999, the same year she featured in box office hit Lake Placid. It's rumoured that she is paid in the region of $400,000 to $500,000 per episode for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, making her one of US TV's best-paid stars.

Career: Florek started his professional career on stage in the Big Apple before heading west to theatres in San Diego and La Jolla. He made his TV debut in 1982's The Country Girl, and his first film, Eddie Macon's Run, was released a year later. He became a star in 1988 thanks to a role in LA Law, but quit to take part in Law and Order in 1990. The actor spent three years with the show, but later reprised his role as Cragen in spin-off Special Victims Unit in 1999. Florek has also appeared in the films Angel Heart, Sweet Liberty and Hard Rain.