Best known for her golden and Emmy-winning roles in the NBC drama series Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU), Mariska Hargitay is an American actress that every producer wants to work with.
The American actress of German and Hungarian origin was crowned Miss Beverly Hills in 1982, but her journey into acting began after she had a small role in a horror-comedy, Ghoulies. You can read more about the successful entertainer below.
Who Exactly is Mariska Hargitay and When Was He Born?
Hargitay was born on January 23, 1964, as Mariska Magdolna Hargitay. Born in California, she has raised a Roman Catholic and attended Marymount High School, where she was active as a member of the student administration, as a cheerleader and as an athlete. After graduating in 1982, her passion for acting led her to the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television, where she learned more about acting. But then this journey was short-lived, as she dropped out of college to begin her career as an actress, which began with a one-hour adventure TV drama series downtown. She won further roles in 1988 in the prime time soap Falcon Crest and in 1992 in the comedy-drama crime series Tequila and Bonetti.
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Between 1997 and 2007 Mariska Hargitay saw more acting roles that helped her to fame. Among the movies she played are Prince Street, Baywatch, Freddy’s Nightmares, Thirtysomething, Leaving Las Vegas and of course the drama series In the Heat of the Night. Her voice could also be heard in True Crime: New York City, a 2005 video game, but Hargitay’s biggest hit was the 1999 NBC Police TV drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where she starred as Detective/Lieutenant Olivia Benson, the sex crime investigator.
The TV series not only made her more popular in the entertainment industry but also earned her a number of awards and nominations. These include the Gracie Allen Awards for Best Female Leading Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Awards for Outstanding Leading Actress, and many others. She has also produced and directed several episodes of the drama series. Mariska Hargitay‒s hard work and dedication have paid off. It is said that she is worth 50 million dollars and that she is earning a whopping 450,000 dollars in salary per episode of the series.
The actress speaks five languages fluently, including Spanish, Hungarian, English, French and Italian.
Her Family – Father, Mother, Brothers, and Sisters
Mariska Hargitay has a beautiful family consisting of her father Mickey Hargitay – a Hungarian-born bodybuilder and former Mr. Universe; her mother Jayne Mansfield, who was an actress, and her siblings (two brothers Zoltan Hargitay and Miklos ‘Mickey’ Hargitay).
Mickey and Jayne were divorced twice, in May 1963 and 1964, but only the latter was validated after Jayne asked the court to validate the divorce. After their separation, Jayne married the American film producer and director Matt Cimber, while Mickey married Tina Hargitay. His third marriage was with Ellen Siano. After the separation of her parents, Mariska now has three half-siblings – one (Tina Hargitay) from her father’s second marriage and two (Jayne Marie Mansfield and Antonio Raphael Ottaviano Cimber) from her mother’s first and third marriages.
Mariska Hargitay was with her mother when she saw her die in a terrible car accident. That was on June 29, 1967, when she and her brothers joined her mother and her boyfriend Sam Brody and they were together on the road between New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi when they were involved in a car accident. While Mariska and her brothers escaped with some minor injuries, Jayne and Brody were killed. After their mother died, they were left in the care of their father, who took care of them.
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Mariska Hargitay’s Husband & Kids
Mariska is married to the actor Peter Hermann, whom she met while working in Law & Order: SVU. Hermann also starred in the series as defender Trevor Langan. The 1.76-meter tall beautiful actress married the 1.96-meter tall American writer, actor, and producer on August 28, 2004. The two got married in Santa Barbara, California, and welcomed their first child, August Miklos Friedrich Hermann, on June 28, 2006.
Mariska had her son via an emergency C-section. Her other two children – a girl, Amaya Josephine, and a boy, Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann – were adopted. Mariska Hargitay is not involved in any external relationship, as she has been close to her husband just as he has been faithful to her.
