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Mariska Hargitay
From The TV IV
| Mariska Hargitay | |
| |
| Birth name | Mariska Magdolna Hargitay |
| Born | January 23, 1964 in Santa Monica, California, USA |
| Notable Roles | Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
| Notable Episodes | |
| Awards | Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2006)
Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (2005) |
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Mariska Hargitay is an American actress born to Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield. She is best known for her role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Olivia Benson.
Contents |
Biography
Roles
Starring Roles
| Series | Role | Year(s) | Season(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown | Jesse Smith | 1986 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tequila and Bonetti | Angela Garcia | 1992 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Can't Hurry Love | Didi Edelstein | 1995–1996 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prince Street | Nina Echeverria | 1997 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Olivia Benson | 1999– | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
Recurring Roles
| Series | Role | Year(s) | Season(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon Crest | Carly Fixx | 1988 | 7 | 8 |
| ER | Cynthia Hooper | 1997–1998 | 4 | |
Guest Starring Roles
| Series | Role | Episode | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the Heat of the Night | Spike | 1x08 - ...And Then You Die | May 3, 1988 |
| Freddy's Nightmares | Marsha | 1x04 - Freddy's Tricks and Treats | October 30, 1988 |
| Baywatch | Lisa Peters | 1x03 - Second Wave | October 13, 1989 |
| Wiseguy | Debbie Vitale | 3x15 - Romp | February 7, 1990 |
| Thirtysomething | Courtney Dunn | 3x15 - Fathers and Lovers | February 13, 1990 |
| Booker | Michelle Larkin | 1x15 - Black Diamond Run | February 18, 1990 |
| Gabriel's Fire | Carmen | 1x10 - Windows | November 29, 1990 |
| Grapevine | Katie | 1x02 - The Katie and Adam Story | June 22, 1992 |
| Key West | Laurel | 1x04 - Less Moonlight | February 9, 1993 |
| Seinfeld | Melissa Shannon | 4x23 - The Pilot (1) | May 20, 1993 |
| All-American Girl | Jane | 1x19 - Young Americans | March 15, 1995 |
| Ellen | Dara | 3x27 - The Mugging | May 21, 1996 |
| The Single Guy | Kate Conklin | 2x02 - Mounted Cop | September 19, 1996 |
| The Single Guy | Kate Conklin | 2x04 - Kept Man | October 10, 1996 |
| The Single Guy | Kate Conklin | 2x07 - The Virgin | November 7, 1996 |
| Cracker | Detective | 1x01 - True Romance (1) | September 18, 1997 |
| Law & Order | Det. Olivia Benson | 10x14 - Entitled (2) | February 18, 2000 |
| Law & Order | Det. Olivia Benson | 10x15 - Fools for Love | February 23, 2000 |
| Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Det. Olivia Benson | 1x11 - Day (2) | May 3, 2005 |
| Law & Order | Det. Olivia Benson | 16x02 - Flaw (2) | September 28, 2005 |
| Chicago Fire | Det. Olivia Benson | 3x21 - We Called Her Jellybean (1) | April 28, 2015 |
Specials and Made-for-TV Movies
| Title | Role | Airdate | Series/Banner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finish Line | Lisa Karsh | January 11, 1989 | |
| Blind Side | Melanie | January 30, 1993 | |
| The Gambler V: Playing for Keeps | Etta Place | October 2, 1994 | |
| Night Sins | Paige Price | February 23, 1997 | |
| The Advocate's Devil | Rendi | October 5, 1997 | |
| Plain Truth | Ellie Harrison | October 4, 2004 | |
| The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards | Herself | January 16, 2005 | Golden Globe Awards |
| The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | Herself | September 18, 2005 | Primetime Emmy Awards |
| The WIN Awards | Herself | September 26, 2005 | |
| The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | Herself | August 27, 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards |
Talk, News and Game Show Appearances
| Series | Episode | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Show 143 | September 17, 1999 |
| Late Show with David Letterman | Show 391 | February 7, 2002 |
| The Rosie O'Donnell Show | Show 1108 | February 21, 2002 |
| The View | 9/18/2003 | November 18, 2003 |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Show 1899 | May 12, 2004 |
| The View | 2/22/2005 | February 22, 2005 |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Show 830 | March 4, 2005 |
| The View | 5/3/2005 | May 3, 2005 |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Show 911 | July 25, 2005 |
Memorable Moments
Awards and Accolades
Golden Globe Awards
(2 Nominations, 1 Win)
- Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (2005)
Gracie Allen Awards
(2 Nominations, 2 Wins)
- Won: Individual Achievement for Best Female Lead - Drama - Series (2004, 2009)
Primetime Emmy Awards
(8 Nominations, 1 Win)
- Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
- Won: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2006)
Prism Awards
(1 Nomination)
- Nominated: Performance in a TV Drama Series Episode (2004)
Satellite Awards
(1 Nomination)
- Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Drama (2000)
Screen Actors Guild Awards
(6 Nominations)
- Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
TV Guide Awards
(1 Nomination)
- Nominated: Favorite Actress in a New Series (2000)
Viewers for Quality Television Awards
(1 Nomination)
- Nominated: Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series (2000)
Trivia
- Her parents were Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield
- Has two older brothers, Miklós and Zoltán and three half-siblings: Jayne Marie and Tony (from her mother's first and third marriages, respectively) and Tina Hargitay (from her father's first marriage)
- Is of Hungarian, British Isles (English & Cornish) and German ancestry
- Was in the car accident that killed her mother, Jayne Mansfield (along with her brothers) when she was 3 years old and was left with a zig-zag scar on one side of her head from the accident
- Graduated from Marymount High School in 1982
- Attended UCLA and the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma); she left the school before completing her degree when she started her acting career
- Was crowned Miss Beverly Hills 1982
- Attended Groundlings Theatre and School in Los Angeles, California
- Is fluent in English, French, Hungarian, Italian and Spanish
- Married to Peter Hermann since 2004; they have three children: sons August (born in 2007) and Andrew (who was adopted in October of 2011), and daughter Amaya (who was adopted in April of 2011)
- In late December of 2008, she sustained a partially collapsed lung after falling during a stunt on the set of Law & Order: SVU which required her to undergo surgery; she was hospitalized in March of 2009 after suffering from chest pains related to the injury
- Is the founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation organization which provides support to survivors of sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence
- In 2025, She directed the documentary My Mom Jayne which was about her mother Jayne Mansfield which premiered on HBO Max, her siblings and her actual biological father Nelson Sardelli participated in the documentary.
- In 1989, at age 25, Hargitay discovered that her father Mickey Hargitay was not her biological father, she met her actual biological father Nelson Sardelli at age 30.
- Godmother to former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit co-star and close friend Christopher Meloni's kids.
- Best friends with Drew Barrymore, Debra Messing, Hilary Swank, Brooke Shields & Ali Wentworth.
- Appeared in the music video for Ronnie Milsap's "She Loves My Car" in 1984 which was her big break.
- Appeared in the music video for Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" as the character Justice.
