Mariska Hargitay

Hargitay was born at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of actress and 1950s-era sex symbol Jayne Mansfield.

Her father was the Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay.

Her first and middle names are Hungarian and refer to Mary Magdalene (Mariska is a diminutive of Mary).

She was raised Catholic and has two older brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, as well as three half-siblings, Jayne Marie Mansfield and Antonio "Tony" Cimber (from her mother's first and third marriages, respectively) and Tina Hargitay (from her father's first marriage).

Hargitay's parents divorced in May 1963, but a judge later found their Mexican divorce invalid.

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born January 23, 1964) is an American actress.

The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, two People's Choice Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Hargitay's interest in acting began while attending Marymount High School in Los Angeles, followed by enrolling in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

They reconciled a few months before Hargitay's birth in January 1964, but soon separated again.

In August 1964, Hargitay's mother successfully petitioned the court to rule the Mexican divorce legal.

A few weeks later, Mansfield married the director Matt Cimber, who had directed her in a 1964 production of the William Inge play Bus Stop.

By the summer of 1966, however, Mansfield and Cimber had filed for divorce.

On June 28, 1967, the three-year-old Hargitay was one of the passengers involved in a tragic car accident on U.S. Highway 90 near New Orleans that killed her mother, Jayne Mansfield, and left Hargitay with a zigzag scar on her head.

Raised by her father and his third wife following Manfield's death, Hargitay expressed a lifelong impact from the loss of her mother.

On June 29, 1967, Mansfield was in an automobile accident on a stretch of U.S. Route 90 between New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The accident ripped off the top of the car, instantly killing Mansfield, her boyfriend Sam Brody, and the driver.

Asleep in the back of the vehicle, Mariska, then three-and-a-half years old, was left with a zigzag scar on one side of her head.

Her brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, escaped with minor injuries.

After the death of their mother, the three siblings were raised by their father and his third wife, Ellen Siano.

Hargitay dislikes comparisons with her famous mother and, at age 18, said, "My dad was Mr. Universe, so it would be fun for me to be Miss Universe".

Hargitay has said that the early loss of her mother left "a hole in my life that won't ever be filled. I will never get over it. I will always be a girl who lost her mom".

In 1982, Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA.

She enjoyed acting and enrolled at UCLA after graduation from high school in 1982.

That same year, Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA.

By the time she was a freshman in college, Hargitay had an agent and several small roles to her credit.

She attended UCLA School of Theater Film and Television where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

She left before completing her degree.

Hargitay attended Groundlings Theatre and School in Los Angeles.

After Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA, she competed in the Miss California USA pageant the following year and placed fourth runner-up to Julie Hayek, who was later crowned Miss USA.

She left UCLA before completing her degree and pursued acting with minor roles in films and television shows, including the 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas. Her subsequent notable appearances included recurring roles in 1990s TV dramas, such as Falcon Crest, Tequila and Bonetti, Can't Hurry Love and ER.

Hargitay's breakthrough came in 1999 when she was cast to portray Detective Olivia Benson in NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a police procedural crime drama and spin-off of Law and Order, for which she received critical acclaim, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.

Her father died in 2006 aged 80.

Hargitay's father died in September 2006 from multiple myeloma in Los Angeles, California, at age 80.

While a student at her Catholic secondary school, Marymount High School, Hargitay was active in cheerleading, student government, athletics, and the theater program.

Since 2013, Hargitay is considered one of the highest-paid television actresses in the world.

Hargitay's role as Benson influenced her philanthropic work and activism, leading her to found the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to people who have been sexually abused.

She became a certified rape counselor and integrated some of the Foundation's work into the show.

Hargitay has engaged in initiatives to support domestic violence shelters, raise awareness about untested rape kits, and contributed to other causes, including donating to UCLA.

Hargitay has two older brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, and three half-siblings.

In 2019, SVU became the longest-running drama in American prime-time television and Hargitay's portrayal of Benson became the longest-running character in a prime-time American TV drama.