Mariska Magdolna Hargitay
11 min read
Reading time
2,171
Words
Published
70
Film credits
3
Awards
Mariska Hargitay has portrayed Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, making her the longest-running actor on a single prime-time drama series. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2005 and a Primetime Emmy in 2006. Off-screen, she founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004 to aid survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Mariska Hargitay — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Mariska Hargitay by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Mariska Hargitay — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
In June 1967, a car crash killed her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield. Three-year-old Mariska and her brothers survived with minor injuries. Mariska Magdolna Hargitay was born on January 23, 1964, in Santa Monica, California, to Mansfield and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. Raised by her father and stepmother Ellen, she attended Marymount High School and later majored in theater at UCLA, training with the Meisner technique.
Hargitay made her film debut in the cult horror Ghoulies 1984 as Donna. She appeared in Leaving Las Vegas 1995 and Lake Placid 1999. A recurring role on ER in 1998 led to her casting as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 1999. She became the highest-paid actress on television. For her performance, she won a Golden Globe in 2005 and an Emmy in 2006. She also directed the 400th episode of the series.
Hargitay met actor Peter Hermann on the set of Law & Order: SVU and married him on August 28, 2004. They have three children: son August Miklos Friedrich Hermann born 2006, and adopted children Amaya Josephine Hermann and Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann both adopted in 2011. In 2009, she suffered a partially collapsed lung after a fall during a stunt.
Hargitay’s role as Olivia Benson made her the longest-running actor on a single prime-time drama. She inspired Taylor Swift, who named her cat Olivia Benson. In 2013, Hargitay received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame adjacent to her mother’s. Through the Joyful Heart Foundation, founded in 2004, she has advocated for survivors of sexual violence. She is remembered for breaking barriers for women in television and for her powerful on-screen portrayal.
The complete filmography of Mariska Hargitay — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Mariska Hargitay — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Mariska Hargitay — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Everything Has Combined to Make My Life in New York an Amazing Experience. I Told My Manager a Few Years Ago That I Wanted to Move Here and Try Acting in the Theater. Then This Show Came Up. Now I’m in This Show That Means Something to Me and a Lot of Other People.
Little-known facts about Mariska Hargitay — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
On her desk on the set of Law & Order: SVU, Hargitay keeps a photograph of her mother Jayne Mansfield.
In June 1967, three-year-old Hargitay and her two brothers were asleep in the back seat when their car crashed into a trailer truck, killing her mother. They survived with minor injuries, and Hargitay has a zig-zag scar on her head with no memory of the event.
Hargitay founded and serves as president of the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit aiding victims of rape.
She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard on November 8, 2013, with guests Dick Wolf and Hilary Swank. Her star sits next to her mother Jayne Mansfield’s.
She was the first woman from the Law & Order franchise to receive award nominations and wins.
Hargitay recalls only two memories of her mother: being served breakfast and lying in bed together. Mansfield died when Hargitay was three.
She and Peter Hermann adopted a baby girl, Amaya Josephine Hermann, on April 7, 2011, and a baby boy, Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann, on October 19, 2011.
Hargitay is godmother to Christopher Meloni’s daughter Sophia.
She has played Olivia Benson on six different series: Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
She is a trained rape crisis counselor.
Hargitay directed the 400th episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
She has said that losing her mother at age three is the scar of my soul.
With the 21st season of SVU in 2019, she broke the record for most seasons playing the same character consecutively, after James Arness and Kelsey Grammer.
She won the 1982 Miss Beverly Hills USA pageant.
On one occasion in New York City, Hargitay slipped into her Olivia Benson character while aiding a collapsed pregnant woman when no one else would help.
She gave birth to her son August via C-section on June 28, 2006.
On January 13, 2009, she suffered a partially collapsed lung after a bad fall during a stunt.
In 2007, she spoke to the Girl Scouts of Greater New York Scholars Program about her career.
She is the only original cast member still on Law & Order: SVU; Christopher Meloni left after season twelve, and Dann Florek and Richard Belzer departed mid-season fifteen.
She auditioned for roles in Speed 1994 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1993.
She briefly replaced Gabrielle Fitzpatrick in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie 1995 but her scenes were reshot; her father later encouraged her not to quit acting.
She married Peter Hermann on August 28, 2004, at California’s Unitarian Historical Chapel.
People magazine named her one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 2005, 2006, and 2008.
She is the daughter of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay; younger sister of Zoltán Hargitay and Mickey Hargitay Jr.; half-sister of Jayne Marie Mansfield, Tony Cimber, and Tina Hargitay.
She is good friends with Taylor Swift, who named her pet cat Olivia Benson, and Hargitay appeared in Swift’s Bad Blood music video as Justice.
She learned to swim at age two and later swam for her high school.
She became friends with Maria Bello during Bello’s recurring role on ER in 1997-1998.
She majored in theatre at UCLA.
Elizabeth Taylor stated that Hargitay was her favorite actress; they first met when Taylor was filming Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966.
In May 2025, Hargitay publicly confirmed that her biological father is Nelson Sardelli, an Italian-Brazilian singer, and that she learned this at age 25.
Her father was Hungarian, and her mother was of British Isles English and Cornish and German ancestry.
In 1992, she was engaged to studio executive Lance Young but broke it off.
She is aunt to Jianni Cimber, and to Brandon and Mickey Hargitay III.
She trained with Joanne Baron in a two-year Meisner program.
She endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024.
She was formerly sister-in-law of Dana Hargitay, ex-wife of her brother Miklos.
She spent much of her life worrying she would die at 34 like her mother, but instead experienced a motorcycle accident and a sprained ankle.
She auditioned for the role of Kitana in Mortal Kombat but lost to Talisa Soto.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Mariska Hargitay.
Celebrities similar to Mariska Hargitay — same craft, ranked by reach.
🌍 Hong Kong
🇺🇸 United States
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇦 Ukraine
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
