Mariska Hargitay and siblings Mickey Hargitay Jr., Zoltan Hargitay and Jayne Marie Mansfield attend Mariska Hargitay’s Star ceremony on The Hollywood Walk of Fame held on November 8, 2013.Photo:Albert L. Ortega/Getty
Albert L. Ortega/Getty
Mariska Hargitaycomes from a large family with deep roots in Hollywood.
TheLaw and Order: SVUactress, who hasplayed Olivia Benson for a record-setting 25 seasons, is the child of two entertainment icons: Mickey Hargitay, a former Mr. Universe, and the legendary Hollywood screen sirenJayne Mansfield. The famous couple, who met in a New York City nightclub, married in 1958 and appeared in several movies together in the late 1950s and early 1960s, includingThe Loves of Hercules,Promises! Promises!andPrimitive Love.
“The beauty is that families are made in so many different ways, and that was my reality as a child,” she told PEOPLE in 2018. “Growing up, my family was made in such an interesting and unique way, and nowI have that with my own family, and so I understand it. It’s been amazing.”
From their childhoods to their relationships as adults, here’s everything to know about Mariska Hargitay and her five siblings.
Their mother, Jayne Mansfield, was killed in a car crash in 1967
Mickey Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield, Jayne Marie Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay Jr., and Zoltan Hargitay.Mariska Hargitay Instagram
Mariska Hargitay Instagram
On June 29, 1967, Mansfield was killed in Biloxi, Mississippi, when the car she was traveling in crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer truck, according toThe New York Times. The two other adults sitting in the front seat (Sam Brody, her attorney, and Ronnie Harrison, their driver) were also killed in the wreck, but Mickey Jr., Zoltan and Mariska — who were sleeping in the backseat — all survived with minor injuries.
Mariska, who was only 3 years old at the time of the accident, has occasionally spoken about how the tragic loss — which she called “the scar of her soul” in 2009 — affected her childhood.
“I thinkI learned about crisis very young, and I learned very young that s— happens and there’s no guarantees, and we keep going,” she toldGlamourin 2021.
She continued, “I clearly was in that frozen place for a lot of my childhood — of trying to survive, actually trying to survive. My life has been a process of unpeeling the layers and trust and trusting again."
Mansfield’s death has also had a profound impact on who Mariska became as an adult. TheLaw and Order: SVUstar, who referred to surviving trauma early in life as her “superpower” toGlamour, revealed to PEOPLE in 2018 how the death of her mother has shaped her outlook on life.
“The way I’ve lived with loss is to lean into it,” Mariska shared. “As the saying goes, the only way out is through. In my life, certainly I’ve tried to avoid pain, loss, feeling things. But I’ve learned instead to really lean into it, because sooner or later you have to pay the piper.”
She continued, “I’m not saying it’s easy, and it certainly hasn’t been for me. There’s been a lot of darkness. But on the other side things can be so bright.”
Mickey Hargitay, Mariska Hargitay and Ellen Siano, January 16,2005, InStyle/Warner Bros. Golden Globes Party.M. Caulfield/WireImage
M. Caulfield/WireImage
“I called her Mom. She really claimed us. She never had biological kids of her own, and to this day we are her kids,” Mariska toldGood Housekeepingin 2012.
“We were blessed that she really embraced us and loved us so quickly,” she continued. “And I was very fortunate to have a maternal figure in my life after such a horrific accident.”
Mariska and her brothers had an equally strong role model in their father, Hargitay (who died in 2006 after a long illness).
“My dad taught me to listen and to learn,” she told PEOPLE in 2018 about her late father. “As a young kid, I had my antennas out for who had wisdom and why, and what was I supposed to learn from them, and why were they there? The way I’ve been able to make sense of the cards I was dealt was to follow those signs.”
Jayne Marie was the first daughter of a Playmate to be featured inPlayboy
Jayne Marie Mansfield, September 12, 1979 in Oxnard, California.Paul Harris/Getty
Paul Harris/Getty
Jayne Marie, Mansfield’s daughter from her first marriage to Paul Mansfield, followed in her mother’s footsteps when she was a featured model forPlayboymagazine in July 1976. Mansfield had been thePlayboyPlaymate of the Month in February 1955 — making the pair the first mother-daughter duo to appear in the magazine.
However, after her appearance inPlayboyand a brief acting career, Jayne Marie had an apparent change of heart and gave up her career in the public eye. As of 2008, she was living in L.A. and working as a money manager, Mariska revealed in an “Ask Stacy" column at the time.
Mickey Jr. runs a Hollywood plant shop
Mariska Hargitay and Mickey Hargitay Jr.Mariska Hargitay Instagram
Though both of his parents had careers in show business, Mickey Jr. took his talents in a different direction: Mariska’s oldest brother has run a Hollywood plant shop,Mickey Hargitay Plants, since 1980.
“[My family] made decisions to reach for the stars and I’ve wanted to keep my feet on the ground,” Mickey Jr. told theLos Angeles Timesin 2016. “I’ve wanted to do something that seems more grounded and is more real."
Mickey Jr.’s shop, which sells indoor and outdoor plants, gardening materials and landscaping services, counts several famous actors among its clientele — includingGeorge ClooneyandJim Carrey, according to theLos Angeles Times. Mickey Jr., who grew up watering his family’s plants, is well-known throughout L.A. for his extensive knowledge about plants and their care.
Mariska praised her older brother’s green thumb inan Instagram postfrom December 2023.
“I love this guy so much. Best big brother. Soulful. Protective. Nurturing. Funny. Fun. Kind. Wise. Gentle. Hard Working. Fair,” she wrote alongside a photo of the two of them. “To watch somebody nurture plants is a thing of beauty.”
Zoltan works as a carpenter on Hollywood sets
Zoltan Hargitay.Mariska Hargitay Instagram
Like his parents and sister, Zoltan works in the entertainment industry — but not in front of the camera. Instead, Zoltan works behind the scenes as a carpenter constructing sets for Hollywood films and television series.
Zoltan seemingly gets his carpentry skills from his late father, who first worked as a plumber and a carpenter when he immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1947, according toThe Independent.
Mariska reunited with three of her siblings at her 2013 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony
Mariska Hargitay and siblings Mickey Hargitay Jr., Zoltan Hargitay and Jayne Marie Mansfield attend Mariska Hargitay’s Star ceremony on The Hollywood Walk of Fame held on November 8, 2013.Albert L. Ortega/Getty
“My amazing family is here today. My mom, Ellen, and my sister — happy birthday Jayne Marie!” theLaw and Order: SVUstar said at the ceremony, which was held on her sister’s 63rd birthday. “My big brother Mickey and my big brother Zoli and, of course, my dad, who I know is watching us right now.”
Mariska also mentioned how her mother, Jayne, had received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. The mother and daughter’s stars are directly next to each other.
“It’s so incredible because my brother Mickey and my sister Jayne Marie were actually here, right here, when my mother got her star, so I can’t imagine what they’re feeling,” she shared. “Probably enough with the stars already.”
“I love you family, all of you,” Mariska added.
Mariska frequently shouts out her brothers on social media
Mickey Hargitay Jr., Mariska Hargitay, and Zoltan Hargitay.Mariska Hargitay Instagram
From National Sibling Day to their birthdays, Mariska will occasionally post about her older brothers Mickey Jr. and Zoltan on social media.
On Zoltan’s birthday in 2021, Mariska shared sweet sentiments about her older brother onInstagram— comparing him toTed Lassoand calling him a “relentless optimist.”
“Happy Birthday to my kind, loving and open and huge hearted brother … I love you,” Mariska wrote in her caption.
Mariska wrote similar kind words on social media about her oldest brother Mickey Jr. when he turned 65 in December 2023. Along witha throwback photoof their family from the 1960s, Mariska sent happy birthday wishes to her brother, who she described as “kind and gentle and generous and wise” in her Instagram caption.
source: people.com
