Actress Mariska Hargitay has led a life under the shadow of the fact that her mother was one of the most famous women in the world in her day -- Jayne Mansfield.
But Hargitay hardly knew her, as Mansfield died in a car crash when the "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star was only three -- and survived the same crash.
Yes, it might be the stuff of Hollywood legend, but to Hargitay it has mainly been a life lesson, as she explains in a recent interview with Glamour magazine.
“I think I learned about crisis very young,” she said, “and I learned very young that s--- happens and there’s no guarantees, and we keep going. And then we transform it.”
Hargitay is one of Glamour's "Women of the Year," and she appears on a stunning cover shot, strong and smiling on a building rooftop, flinging her dress in defiance like her beloved “Law & Order: SVU” character Olivia Benson might, if Benson ever wore a super-fancy dress.
Hargitay joins a very distinguished “Women of the Year 2021” list that includes rapper Megan Thee Stallion, poet Amanda Gorman, biochemist and mRNA vaccine pioneer Dr. Katalin Karikó, Heart of Dinner co-founders Yin Chang and Moonlynn Tsai, and Georgia voting rights activists Helen Butler, Nsé Ufot, and LaTosha Brown.
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When her mother died in a car crash, Hargitay was sleeping in the back seat, with Mansfield in the front passenger seat. The car slid at full speed under a truck, which took the top off, proving lethal for Mansfield. Hargitay has since turned the sad story into a powerful motivator.
“That’s been kind of my superpower,” the actress told the magazine, “and the gift of having trauma early in life. I’ve spent the last 50—how old am I?—57, so 54 years sort of trying to figure out what happened and why, and what am I supposed to do with it?”
After the crash, Hargitay was given over to her father, Mickey Hargitay, a famous bodybuilder who did his best. Hargitay had a relatively normal childhood, competing on the swim team, running cross-country, and playing volleyball. She was even crowned Miss Beverly Hills 1982.
“I clearly was in that frozen place for a lot of my childhood—of trying to survive, actually trying to survive," she said. "My life has been a process of unpeeling the layers and trust and trusting again.”
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As Today says, while Hartigay has worked with numerous actors through the years, she has a soft spot for Christopher Meloni, who played Elliot Stabler for 12 seasons before leaving in 2011. He recently returned for his own spinoff, "Law & Order: Organized Crime.”
“He’s a bull,” said Hargitay. “He’s intellectual. He’s clear. He’s focused. He’s funny. He’s a ballbuster. And to see him back stronger, faster -- he’s like the bionic man.”
Benson and Stabler went through a ton of ups and downs on the show. Like any actor though, Hargitay doesn’t want fans to think she’s just like her creation -- a common misconception that happens with beloved long-running TV characters.
“My personality is very different from Olivia Benson,” she said of her intense "SVU" character. “I like to laugh…. I like to make my kids laugh. And comedy has a real currency in our household.”
Which makes genetic sense, since her mother was a naturally gifted comic actress long before she became the doomed Hollywood legend.
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