Who are Taylor Swift's cats named after? Mariska Hargitay claims it's a "payback" as her cat is called Karma after the singer's hit track

American actress and film producer Mariska Hargitay revealed how a Taylor Swift song inspired her cat’s name during her appearance on the June 25, 2025, episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast. During her conversation, the actress shared the backstory behind naming her cat Karma, explaining that it was a tribute to Swift’s 2022 hit song, Karma.

In the episode, host Alex Cooper mentioned that Taylor Swift had named one of her cats after Olivia Benson, the iconic detective character Hargitay portrayed on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Hargitay, in response, said she did "payback" Taylor Swift in her own way:

"I will say, as epic as that is, I did name my cat Karma. Okay. So, payback’s a b**ch," she explained.

Taylor Swift named her pets after iconic pop culture characters. In addition to Olivia Benson, Swift's second cat was named Meredith Grey, after Ellen Pompeo’s lead character in Grey’s Anatomy. Her third cat was named Benjamin Button, inspired by Brad Pitt’s character in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

During the podcast, Hargitay explained that naming her pet "Karma" felt like a way to "level the playing field". Drawing from the chorus of Swift’s song, she added:

"Karma is a cat, and she and Karma vibe like that".

This line echoed Swift’s original lyrics of Karma that went:

"Karma is a cat / Purring in my lap ’cause it loves me / Flexing like a goddamn acrobat / Me and karma vibe like that".

Cooper, curious about the timeline, asked whether Hargitay chose the name “Karma” before or after the song was released. Hargitay admitted that the decision came shortly after the track’s debut. For her, it was “the only thing" that "seemed fair", since Swift had already honored her by naming a cat after Olivia Benson.

Interestingly, Hargitay revealed that she hadn’t even planned on getting a cat. The adoption happened spontaneously during a family outing. She recalled a trip to a pet store with her children and husband, actor Peter Hermann.

Peter “vibed” with a particular kitten, and they “went home with a cat,” whom they named Karma.

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What else do we know about Taylor Swift’s cats?

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour - Singapore - Source: Getty

American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift isn’t just a global music superstar. Behind the scenes, Swift is a proud cat mom and over the years welcomed three feline companions, Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button, into her home.

Swift’s journey into cat parenthood began in 2011 when she brought home her first cat, a Scottish Fold she named Meredith Grey.

"She is awesome. She's, like, the most adorable cat in the world," the singer said after bringing her home ( as per People Magazine).

Meredith also made several appearances on Swift's Instagram and is a bit of a star in her own right. In Deadpool 2, Meredith and Olivia were featured on a t-shirt worn by Ryan Reynolds’ character, labeled, "Olivia & Meredith Best Friends Purrrrr-Ever".

Despite her fame, Meredith was a reclusive cat and preferred a quiet life. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Swift encouraged her fans to self-quarantine and posted a photo of Meredith tucked away in a toy:

"For Meredith, self-quarantining is a way of life. Be like Meredith," she jokingly wrote.

In 2021, fans became increasingly concerned about Meredith’s health after her absence from Taylor Swift's social media feed. However, Swift reassured fans via an Instagram video post that everything was fine with Meredith:

"We’ve been hearing some rumors on the internet recently…The truth is, Meredith just hates having her picture taken," she clarified.

Taylor Swift brought her second cat, Olivia Benson, home in 2014. Olivia is another Scottish Fold.

In 2015, Olivia even got the chance to meet her namesake. Swift shared a video of the white kitten cuddling up to Hargitay as she knelt to feed her.

"This is Olivia Benson meeting Olivia Benson, and um, things are going well so far," Taylor Swift said in a video ( as per People Magazine)

Like Meredith, Olivia didn’t shy away from the limelight. Along with her sister, she appeared in Deadpool 2 and the ME! music video. She also had a viral moment in 2017 when Swift shared an outtake from an AT&T ad in which she adorably babbled to the cat while Olivia stared back blankly.

Olivia even dabbled in advertising, co-starring with Swift in a Diet Coke commercial. Each time Swift took a sip, more cats appeared, all orbiting around Olivia.

During the singer's preparation for the Reputation tour in 2018, Swift posted a photo of Olivia mid-stretch with the caption:

"We are all stretching to prep for that tour choreo".

In 2019, Olivia joined Swift and Benjamin Button at the Billboard Music Awards, sharing a backstage moment with Paula Abdul. Most recently, she was seen in October 2024 when Swift shared a video of herself holding Olivia while walking into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. “

Taylor Swift welcomed her third cat, a Ragdoll named Benjamin Button, in 2019. The kitten’s arrival wasn’t planned, but the connection was instant. While filming the ME! music video, Swift met Benjamin, who was part of an adoption program that placed kittens in commercials to find them homes.

In an Instagram Live video with Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie, Swift talked about how she found "a cute kitten", referring to Benjamin, who "didn’t have a home". She further recalled the moment the handler asked if she wanted to hold the kitten before the shoot.

"She handed me this tiny cat, and he just starts purring and … he looks at me like, ‘You’re my mom, and we’re going to live together.’ I fell in love... “I looked at Brendon and he’s like, ‘You’re going to get the cat, aren’t you?’" Taylor Swift added.

A few days later, Swift introduced Benjamin to the world on Instagram with a cute photo of the two of them.

"And then there were three," Taylor Swift captioned the post.

Benjamin quickly made himself at home in Swift’s world and on her social media. In 2021, he starred in a TikTok video for the #ImFeeling22 trend, with Swift joking that Benjamin is "22 in cat years".

In 2023, he joined Taylor Swift on the cover of TIME magazine in December 2023, lounging majestically on her shoulders.

Benjamin also had a political moment in 2024 when Swift posted a photo from the TIME shoot to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. In the caption, she praised Harris’ policies and cheekily signed off as a "Childless Cat Lady".

This was a pointed reference to J.D. Vance’s comment that America was being run by "childless cat ladies".

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Taylor Swift recently bought back the master recordings of her first six studio albums from Shamrock Capital. She is currently enjoying some well-deserved time off following her successful Eras Tour and focusing on her personal life and spending time with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

Edited by Prem Deshpande