Mariska Hargitay Reveals Identity of Her Biological Father
Mariska Hargitay is sharing a family secret—she is not biologically a Hargitay.
The 61-year-old revealed her late dad Mickey Hargitay, who raised her after her mom Jayne Mansfield died in a 1967 car accident that the Law & Order: SVU actress survived as a child, is not her biological father. That would be Brazilian-born Italian singer Nelson Sardelli, 90. When Mariska was 30, she watched him perform in Atlantic City and then introduced herself. In character.
“I went full Olivia Benson on him," she told Vanity Fair in an interview published May 17, adding. "I was like, ‘I don't want anything, I don't need anything from you...I have a dad.'"
Nelson, she said, burst into tears upon meeting her, telling her, "I've been waiting 30 years for this moment."
In 1962, Jayne filed for divorce from the Hungarian-born actor—her costar in films such as The Loves of Hercules—and later become romantically involved with Nelson. She and Mickey reconciled before Mariska was born in 1964, Vanity Fair reported, but finalized their divorce later that year.
Rumors about the identity of her biological father have floated for years. Mariska's paternal heritage and Jayne's relationships with both the Hungarian-born actor and Nelson were detailed in the late actress' former press secretary Raymond Strait's 1992 book Here They Are Jayne Mansfield.
And this past April, one of his fans shared a photo of himself with the singer on Instagram, noting that "his daughter is Mariska Hargitay."
The actress suspected such for a while before meeting him. She said that when she was in her 20s, she made the realization after someone showed her a photo of the longtime Vegas performer.
"It was like the floor fell out from underneath me,” she says in the upcoming documentary My Mom Jayne. "Like my infrastructure dissolved."
But according to Vanity Fair, when she confronted Mickey about it, he denied it, and she never mentioned Nelson again to her dad. The actor—who also shared with Jayne kids Mickey "Miklos" Jr., now 66, and Zoltan, 64, and helped raise her daughter Jayne Marie, 74, from a previous relationship—died at age 80 in 2006.
Mariska said that after the encounter with Nelson in Atlantic City, she did end up bonding with him and the daughters he raised. And while she struggled for a while "knowing I'm living a lie my entire life," she ultimately realized something important about her upbringing.
"I grew up where I was supposed to, and I do know that everyone made the best choice for me,” she said. "I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter—that is not a lie."
Look back at Mariska's family photo album.
Mariska's parents looked cozy in 1963, one year before the actress was born, despite Jayne filing for divorce the previous year.
Mariska was born in 1964, just after her mom reconciled with Mickey Hargitay. Her parents divorced later that year.
Mariska's dad is seen with her mom at the Westbury Music Fair after her performance of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1966, two years after their divorce.
Mickey and Jayne were joined backstage by Mariska and her siblings Mickey "Miklos" Hargitay Jr., Zoltan Hargitay and Jayne Marie Mansfield.
The actress' dad joined her at Law & Order SVU's 100th episode celebration in 2003.
The Hungarian-born actor died three years later after battling multiple myeloma. He was 80.
The actress' siblings supported her at her star ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
Mariska shared this pic of herself and her husband of more than 20 years on Thanksfiving 2024. The two share sons August Miklos Friedrich Hermann and Andrew Nicolas Hermann and daughter Amaya Josephine Hermann.
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