Tragic Details About SVU's Mariska Hargitay

This article includes discussion of sexual assault.

Mariska Hargitay's famous mother, Jayne Mansfield, left her with some big shoes to fill. However, instead of trying to step into the iconic sex symbol's high heels, the "Law & Order: SVU" star decided to pave her own path. Speaking to People in 2010, Hargitay shared that she never had much interest in being known as a bombshell because she felt that wasn't her strong suit. The Emmy winner was quick to clarify that her career choice wasn't an indication that she saw herself as anything less than beautiful, however. In fact, Hargitay was so confident with her own body that when an ABC executive urged her to undergo a rhinoplasty, she clapped back with, "You get a nose job." 

Naturally, Mariska Hargitay's stunning transformation into a self-assured woman didn't happen overnight. In an interview with Ladies Home Journal, the philanthropist confessed that she struggled with her self-esteem in her younger years because of her mom's untimely death. "All my life I'd had this problem with following through, not feeling that I was worth it," Hargitay divulged (via People). "Not having a mother makes you think, 'If only I'd been better, she wouldn't have left me.'" Likewise, during a 2000 interview with the Washington Post, she revealed that Mansfield's legacy influenced her professional choices, too. 

In the early days of Hargitay's acting career, she found herself gravitating towards more boyish roles to fulfill her subconscious desire to not even orbit Mansfield's world. With time, though, the Emmy winner realized that she did not want to stifle her creative spark. Still, the Hollywood bombshell's untimely passing greatly impacted her young daughter.

In June 1967, a then-3-year-old Mariska Hargitay and her two siblings got into the backseat of a Buick convertible to accompany their mother, Jayne Mansfield, to New Orleans. The car's driver suffered a visibility issue due to a mosquito-fogging machine and crashed the vehicle into a trailer truck, tragically claiming the life of Mansfield. Thankfully, the children only suffered minor injuries including the visible scar on the side of Mariska Hargitay's head. During a 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, the philanthropist admitted that she had no memory of the accident or the shock of learning that she'd lost her mother from it. But the trauma from the incident eventually settled in and became the real reason why Mariska Hargitay suffered from depression. 

Speaking at a 2024 event for the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, the "ER" star candidly disclosed that everyone in her family was so devastated by the tremendous loss that they had no mental space to care for each other anymore. Meanwhile, when she spoke to People in 2018, Hargitay recalled that she didn't initially try to cope with her mother's passing in a healthy way. "As the saying goes, the only way out is through. In my life, certainly I've tried to avoid pain, loss, feeling things," she confessed. "But I've learned instead to real­ly lean into it, because sooner or later you have to pay the piper." After coming to that realization, she knew Mansfield's presence would never leave her. Mariska Hargitay also channeled her mother on the red carpet numerous times.

On the "Call Her Daddy" podcast in June 2025, Mariska Hargitay revealed that she learned that Mickey Hargitay, the man who raised her from day one, wasn't her biological father when she was 25. The Emmy winner explained that she had come to the life-changing realization when a Jayne Mansfield fan casually mentioned Nelson Sardelli during a chat. Immediately after hearing that name, Mariska felt a shock travel through her body, and she knew that she needed to see a photo of him. After studying the snap, Mariska couldn't deny the similarities in their physical features. During a June 2025 appearance on "The View," Mariska confessed that learning the truth was "brutal." She elaborated, "It really collapsed me. It shattered me because I identified with my father, and having lost my mother so young, I just felt so untethered. And how did I belong to? I really had an identity crisis." 

Likewise, in Hargitay's Vanity Fair interview, the month before, she divulged that her pain surrounding the revelation was exacerbated when she brought it up with Mickey and he outright denied it. Still, she decided not to dig into old wounds with him ever again. Mariska still met up with her biological father, following his performance in Atlantic City. While the philanthropist had her guard up during their first meeting because she felt she might be betraying Mickey, Sardelli was completely overcome with emotion. Although the "Law & Order: Organized Crime" star struggled to come to terms with knowing that her life had been filled with falsehoods, she eventually forged a close bond with Sardelli, too.

In a 2024 People article, Mariska Hargitay wrote that a male friend had sexually assaulted her when she was in her 30s. The actor recalled how she had dissociated from her mind and body during it because Hargitay feared any retaliation might trigger her then-friend to resort to physical violence as well. The "Law & Order: SVU" star couldn't come to terms with the sexual assault afterwards either, explaining, "I couldn't process it. I couldn't believe that it happened. That it could happen. So I cut it out. I removed it from my narrative." 

Hargitay admitted on "Call Her Daddy" that she put a ton of blame on herself for not being able to do anything to stop the assault while it was happening. It was only after Hargitay's gorgeous husband, Peter Hermann, looked her in the eye and told her that she had been raped that she started to accept reality. However, when the realization finally dawned on her, she felt glad that a protective part of her had repressed the memory of the incident until she had a good enough support system that she could rely on to come to terms with it. 

The producer also noted that playing Olivia Benson had instilled a "deep compassion and empathy and understanding" in her that ultimately enabled Hargitay to process her own sexual assault. Meanwhile, when the actor appeared on "Today" in January 2024, she clarified that another reason she had chosen to open up about her story years later was because she wanted to define her experience using specific vocabulary.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Like many other aspiring actors, Mariska Hargitay got into debt before she got famous. During a 2010 interview with Good Housekeeping, the Emmy winner confirmed that she had to make payments for her home and car while struggling to find well-paying work in Hollywood. In the process of trying to keep those necessities and making credit card payments, the future star racked up astounding 6-figure debts. Moreover, she owed $60,000 to an ex-boyfriend who had helped her make good on bill payments when they were together during Hargitay's years of career struggles. 

However, the actor didn't forget that debt either and returned his money the minute she was able to. Even after she became one of the richest "Law & Order" stars, her past financial struggles remained deeply embedded in her mind. "I constantly worry about money," Hargitay confessed to People in a 2010 interview. "I make a lot now, but I don't feel that way, because I was poor and had no money for a lot longer than I've had it." Likewise, in an interview with MORE magazine, Hargitay acknowledged that she understood the frailty of a career in Hollywood all too well. 

She knew that if "Law & Order: SVU" was taken off the air, she wouldn't have many good jobs to choose from as an aging female actor. Given all this, it's unsurprising that Hargitay is a huge star who lives like a normal person and avoids unnecessary, extravagant expenses. Moreover, the beloved actor has also learned from her past struggles and set aside money for a nest egg just in case.

While speaking to Self magazine in 2007, Mariska Hargitay divulged that she developed gestational diabetes when she was carrying her first child. The Emmy winner opened up about how the health complication impacted her, saying, "This pregnancy was really hard for me at the end. I wasn't mobile," (via People). After all the ups and downs, Hargitay and her husband, Peter Hermann, happily welcomed their son August in June 2006.  In a 2012 Good Housekeeping interview, Hargitay shared that she was always keen to adopt children with Hermann because they both wanted to emulate the big families they stemmed from. Sadly, the couple had to go through numerous hardships to make that dream a reality. For starters, it still took them two years to go through the due processes and find a mother who would let them adopt their child. 

When the due date arrived, Hargitay and Hermann sat by her side in the delivery room, ready to welcome the little girl, for whom they had already picked out a name. However, only two days after the baby's arrival, the birth mother decided she wanted to raise her herself. "It was nothing short of devastating," the "Law & Order: SVU" star confessed while reflecting on the time, per People. "But [...] it was probably the greatest, happiest ending. I mean, it was so painful for us, but it was deeply joyful and deeply right for her." Everything ultimately worked out for them, too, as Hargitay and Hermann subsequently adopted their daughter, Amaya, and son, Andrew. And all three of Hargitay's children are growing up fast.