october contributors
Behind the Scenes
Mariska Hargitay
PATRICK MCMULLAN
Cathie Black
TIMOTH Y GREENFIELD-SANDERS
Ylva Erevall
On screen and in life, Mariska Hargitay is no stranger to hard questions and tough
issues. As Detective Olivia Benson on NBC’s “Law & Order Special Victims Unit,“ the
Golden Globe and Emmy winner has advocated for victims and chased criminals for 11
seasons. Off screen, Hargitay not only trained to be a rape crisis counselor, but also
created the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2005. Its mission: to heal, educate and
empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, and to shed
light into the darkness that surrounds these issues. “Joyful Heart turned an actress
into an activist,” says the seemingly tireless philanthropist, wife and mother. Though
she is more than comfortable busting perps and raising real-world awareness,
Hargitay says grilling professional interviewer and fellow Gracie Award-winner Katie
Couric for AVENUE’s cover story this month was a bit nerve-wracking. “I knew that we
would have a lot to talk about—work, politics, family, only-in-New York stories—and
we are friends, but talk about pressure. I mean, when did I ever think I’d be sitting
down with Katie Couric and interviewing her?” It turns out that Hargitay had nothing
to fear: “Katie is such a good interviewer that when you ask her one question, she
knows what the next three are going to be. So that made my job pretty easy.”
Dubbed “The First Lady of American Magazines” and “one of the leading figures in
American publishing over the past two decades” by the Financial Times, Cathie
Black, head of Hearst Magazines, completed AVENUE’s back-page “World
According to ...” questionnaire for this issue. Black is also the author of the
bestselling book, Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and
in Life), about women and success, having it all and balancing it all. In these pages,
she shares her thoughts on living in New York, what she loves about it and how
going down South recently reminded her just how much of a New Yorker she
has become.
As a senior fashion display coordinator for H&M in Sweden, this month’s cover
photographer Ylva Erevall has long honed her eye for visual design and fashion.
After a brief stop in Barcelona, she moved to New York City to develop her love of
photography. Erevall graduated as one of the top students from the Fashion
Institute of Technology with a degree in photography. Her work appears in
numerous magazines, public relations campaigns and model portfolios throughout
the United States. “Katie Couric was a very charismatic and fun person to
photograph,” Erevall says of this month’s pioneering cover subject. “She interacted
happily with everyone on the shoot and created an amusing and energetic
atmosphere by prompting jokes from those around her as well as sharing some of
her own. Even though we only had three hours to shoot and five different locations,
Katie never lost her sense of humor, and her natural talent in front of the camera
made it a quick, easy and pleasurable experience.”
