Trivia

Has a photograph of her mother, Jayne Mansfield, on her desk on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).

In June 1967, she and her two brothers were asleep in the back seat of a car when it smashed into the back of a trailer truck instantly killing her mother (Jayne Mansfield), the driver and Mansfield's boyfriend, attorney Sam Brody. Miraculously, the three children escaped with minor injuries. Mariska has a zig-zag scar down the side of her head from the crash and has no memory of the event.

Founder and president of a non-profit organization to aid the victims of rape - The Joyful Heart Foundation.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 8, 2013. Dick Wolf and Hilary Swank were guest speakers at the ceremony. Her Walk of Fame star is located right next to her mother Jayne Mansfield's star.

First woman ever from the Law and Order franchise to receive award nominations and wins.

She can only remember two events from her life with her mother Jayne Mansfield, who died when Mariska was only three years old. One is when her mother served her breakfast, and the other is when she rubbed her head while they were in bed together.

Mariska and Peter Hermann adopted a baby girl, Amaya Josephine Hermann on April 7, 2011. Later the same year on October 19, 2011, they adopted a baby boy, Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann.

She has played the same character (Olivia Benson) on six different series: Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), Chicago Fire (2012), Chicago P.D. (2014) and Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021).

Godmother of her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) co-star, Christopher Meloni's daughter Sophia.

She is a trained rape crisis counselor.

Directed the 400th episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).

When Jayne Mansfield was three years old, her father, who was thirty-two years old, died of a heart attack, leaving her with a shattering void in her life. When Mariska was three years old, her mother, who was thirty-four years old, died in a car crash. Mariska would later say that "losing my mother at such an early age is the scar of my soul".

With the premiere of SVU's 21st season in 2019, she broke the record for most seasons playing the same character (Olivia Benson) consecutively, after James Arness and Kelsey Grammer.

Won the 1982 Miss Beverly Hills USA pageant.

On one occasion, she came upon a pregnant woman who collapsed while in New York City. When no one else came to the woman's aid, she lapsed into her character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) while aiding the victim.

Gave birth, via C-section to her first child, a son, August Miklós Friedrich Hermann (10 lb., 9 oz.), on June 28, 2006 at 3:21PM.

On January 13, 2009, she suffered a partially collapsed lung, following a bad fall during a stunt.

Spoke in 2007 for Girl Scouts of Greater New York Scholars Program about her career and how she became who she is.

She remains the only original cast member of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) to still be with the series. Christopher Meloni left the show after season twelve while Dann Florek and Richard Belzer both departed mid-way through season fifteen.

She auditioned for the roles of Annie Porter in Speed (1994) and Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).

Replaced Gabrielle Fitzpatrick in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) as Dulcea, but her scenes were reshot with Gabrielle Fitzpatrick returning as Dulcea. In 2009, she said she was lucky enough to have a father who told her not to quit acting after that experience.

On August 28, 2004, she married Peter Hermann at California's Unitarian Historical Chapel.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (2005, 2006 and 2008).

Daughter of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay; younger sister of Zoltán Hargitay and Mickey Hargitay Jr., half-sister of Jayne Marie Mansfield (Jayne's daughter from her first marriage), Tony Cimber (from her mother's third marriage), and of Tina Hargitay (from her father's first marriage with Mary Birge, born 1949).

Is good friends with singer Taylor Swift, who named her pet cat Olivia Benson, in tribute to Mariska's character on SVU. Likewise, Hargitay also appeared in the music video for Swift's song, "Bad Blood", as "Justice".

Became good friends with Maria Bello when she had a recurring role on ER (1994) in 1997-1998.

She learned to swim at the age of two and later swam for her high school.

Majored in theatre at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Elizabeth Taylor's favorite actress. They first met when Taylor was filming Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and when Mariska was a child. Taylor also stated that she had seen every single episode of her television series.

Hargitay publicly confirmed for the first time in May 2025, before the release of My Mom Jayne (2025), that her biological father is Nelson Sardelli, an Italian-Brazilian singer with whom her mother Jayne Mansfield had an extramarital affair with. Hargitay's parentage had long been the subject of rumors since Mansfield's press secretary, Raymond Strait, claimed in a 1992 book that Sardelli may be he father. Hargitay did not learn her true parentage until she was 25. She has three half-sisters from her biological father: Giovanna Sardelli, Pietra Sardelli, and Venetia Carmela Anto Sardelli.

Her father was Hungarian, while her American-born mother was of seven eighths British Isles (English and Cornish), and one eighth German, ancestry. Mariska's maternal grandparents were Vera J. Palmer and Herbert W. Palmer.

In 1992, she was engaged to a studio executive, Lance Young, but later broke off the engagement.

Aunt of Jianni Cimber (Tony's daughter), Brandon and Mickey Hargitay III.

Mariska trained with Joanne Baron in the two-year Meisner program.

She endorsed the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris for her presidential campaign. (2024)

Former sister-in-law of Dana Hargitay, ex-wife of her brother Miklos.

Has spent most of her life worrying that she'd die young at 34 like her mother. but all that has happened is being involved in a motorcycle accident and having a sprained ankle.

Concerned about getting stuck in traffic, she ran from the Hudson Theater on 44th and 6th where she was performing in a one-person show, to Madison Square Gardens to watch the Knicks play Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The Knicks won, 107-106.

She auditioned for the role of Kitana in Mortal Kombat but lost the role to Talisa Soto.