| Mariska (Mar-ish-ka) Magdolina Hargitay was born on January 23, 1964, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are Mickey Hargitay (Hugarian-born, former Mr. Universe) and screen legend Jayne Mansfield. Mariska has 2 older brothers, Zoltan (b. August 1, 1960) and Miklos (Mickey) Jr. (b. December 21, 1958). She also has a half-sister, Jayne Marie Mansfield (b. November 8, 1950), from her mother's first marriage, and a half-brother, Antonio Raphael Ottaviano Cimber (b. October 18, 1965), from her mother's third marriage. Mariska is the forth of Jayne Mansfield's five children. Jayne was divorced from Mickey, but living with him when Mariska was born. Actor Nelson Sardelli has claimed to have fathered Mariska, (her dark features contrast from those of the two sons Mickey and Jayne have) but Mickey has never questioned Mariska's paternity and has raised her as his own. On June 29, 1967, tragedy struck Mariska and her family. She and her two brothers were asleep in the back seat of a car when a it smashed into the back of a tractor-trailer, instantly killing Mansfield, her boyfriend, lawyer, Sam Brody, and the driver. If the children has not been laying down, they to could have been killed. But amazingly they escaped with only minor bruises. Three-year-old Mariska was left with a zig-zag scar down the side of her head as a result, but has to memory of the accident. Soon after Mansfeild's death, Mariska's father married Ellen Santio, she has been Mariska's stepmother ever since. In 1982, Hargitay won the Miss Beverly Hills Pagent. Mariska attended UCLA, where she majored in theatre, but quit shortly be graduating to pursue her acting career. She got her first break in 1987, in a series called Falcon Crest. Although the series was short-lived, it did gain Hargitay recognition. She went on to get roles in another TV series, Downtown, and films such as 1985's Ghoulies, Lake Placid, and Welcome to 18. From there, Hargitay earned her best role to date when she guest-starred on ER in the 1997-1998 season, in her recurring role as Cynthia Hooper, the girlfriend of Dr. Mark Greene (Anothony Edwards). This all lead to Mariska's big-break. In 1999, she became Detective Olivia Benson in Law& Order: SVU, the first spin-off from the popular Law & Order series (the show has since then expanded it's francise with Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the brand-new Law & Order: Trial By Jury). SVU, deals mainly with sex-crimes and is the most intense Law & Order show. The series follows Detectives Oliva Benson (Hargitay), Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T), John Munch (Richard Belzer), their captain Donald Cragen (Dann Flork, in his returning role as Capt. Cragen from the original Law & Order), ADA Casey Novak (Diane Neal, replacing ADA Alexandria Cabot, played by Stephanie March) and FBI agent, psyciatrist George Huang (B.D Wong) in their quest for justice for the victims. This is definately Mariska's most challenging role to date, and entering her sixth season as Det. Benson, she is becoming more talented everyday! Hargitay's other projects include, Plain Truth, a Lifetime original movie, in which she played attorney Ellie Harrison, who travels to an Amish farm in search of the truth when a baby is murdered. Plain Truth earned Lifetime it highest ratings in 2004. On August 28, 2004, Mariska walked down the aisle with her fellow SVU co-star Peter Hermann. She celebrated with 200 guests in a beautiful blush-colored Carolina Herrera dress (she chose the color in honor of her mother, who favored the hue), and a 6 ft. tall wedding cake! This is both Hargitay and Hermann's first marriage. It is rumored that the couple are trying to start a family! Recently, Mariska was honored with her first Golden Globe. She won for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Way to go Mariska! Information came from the following sources: Internet Movie Database Wikipedia NBC.com |
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