# Mariska Hargitay

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (/məˈrɪʃkə ˈhɑːrɡɪteɪ/; born January 23, 1964) is a Hungarian-American actress, producer, and philanthropist. Hargitay has played Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, which is the longest-running character in the longest-running American primetime drama. Since 2013, she is among the highest-paid actresses on television. Her accolades include two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, and in 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is also known for her philanthropic work and activism.
Hargitay was born in Santa Monica, California, and is the daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield. She attended Marymount High School in Los Angeles and enrolled in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, leaving before completing her degree to pursue acting. Her early credits include the series Falcon Crest and In the Heat of the Night (both 1988), Tequila and Bonetti (1992), Can't Hurry Love (1995–1996), and ER (1997–1998), and the drama film Leaving Las Vegas (1995). Aside from SVU, she co-produced the HBO documentary I Am Evidence (2017).
Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to people who have been sexually abused, and became a certified rape counselor. She has engaged in initiatives to support domestic violence shelters, raise awareness about untested rape kits, and contributed to other causes.

## Early life

Hargitay was born at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of actress and 1950s-era sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. Her father was the Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay. Her first and middle names are Hungarian and refer to Mary Magdalene (Mariska is a diminutive of Mary). She was raised Catholic and has two older brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, as well as three half-siblings, Jayne Marie Mansfield and Antonio "Tony" Cimber (from her mother's first and third marriages, respectively) and Tina Hargitay (from her father's first marriage). In 1962, troubles arose in Mansfield and Hargitay's marriage after Mansfield had an affair with an Italian filmmaker. Hargitay's parents divorced in May 1963, but a judge later found their Mexican divorce invalid. However, after Mansfield realized she was pregnant with Mariska, she and Hargitay reconciled a few months before their daughter's birth in January 1964. However, they soon separated again. In August 1964, Hargitay's mother successfully petitioned the court to rule the Mexican divorce legal. Even after the divorce, they remained good friends. A few weeks later, Mansfield married the director Matt Cimber, who had directed her in a 1964 production of the William Inge play Bus Stop. In July 1966, Mansfield filed for divorce from Cimber. However, the divorce was never finalized.
On June 29, 1967, Mansfield was in an automobile accident on a stretch of U.S. Route 90 between New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The accident ripped off the top of the car, instantly killing Mansfield, her boyfriend Sam Brody, and the driver. Asleep in the back of the vehicle, Mariska, then three-and-a-half years old, was left with a zigzag scar on one side of her head. Her brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, escaped with minor injuries. After the death of their mother, the three siblings were raised by their father and his third wife, Ellen Siano. Hargitay dislikes comparisons with her famous mother and, at age 18, said, "My dad was Mr. Universe, so it would be fun for me to be Miss Universe". Hargitay has said that the early loss of her mother left "a hole in my life that won't ever be filled. I will never get over it. I will always be a girl who lost her mom". Hargitay's father died in September 2006 from multiple myeloma in Los Angeles, California, at age 80.
While a student at her Catholic secondary school, Marymount High School, Hargitay was active in cheerleading, student government, athletics, and the theater program. She enjoyed acting and enrolled at UCLA after graduation from high school in 1982. That same year, Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA. By the time she was a freshman in college, Hargitay had an agent and several small roles to her credit. She attended UCLA School of Theater Film and Television where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She left before completing her degree. Hargitay attended Groundlings Theatre and School in Los Angeles.

## Career
### Early years and roles

After Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA, she competed in the Miss California USA pageant the following year and placed fourth runner-up to Julie Hayek, who was later crowned Miss USA. In 1984, Hargitay appeared in Ronnie Milsap's music video for "She Loves My Car", the first country music video to appear on MTV. A year later she had a small role in the horror film Ghoulies. Hargitay has appeared on numerous other television programs, including: Freddy's Nightmares – A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series, Ellen, All-American Girl, Baywatch, Cracker, Gabriel's Fire, In the Heat of the Night, The Single Guy, Wiseguy, and thirtysomething. Her voice is featured on the 2005 video game True Crime: New York City. Hargitay also had a minor role in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas.
Hargitay briefly replaced Gabrielle Fitzpatrick as Dulcea in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, although her scenes were cut from the film when Fitzpatrick recovered from her surgery and returned to the film.
In 1988, she had a recurring role as Carly Fixx in the soap opera Falcon Crest. Hargitay played Jill Banner in the Japanese-American co-production Strawberry Road in 1991. She portrayed police officer Angela Garcia in the 1992 series Tequila and Bonetti and appeared in the two-part fourth season finale episode of Seinfeld, where they had her read for the role of Elaine Benes in "The Pilot". She was considered for the character of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld itself before it began. Two years later, Hargitay portrayed Didi Edelstein, the sexy next-door neighbor, in the 1995 sitcom Can't Hurry Love, which starred Nancy McKeon. In 1997, Hargitay played detective Nina Echeverria on the drama series Prince Street, and had a recurring role as inept desk clerk Cynthia Hooper during the fourth season of ER.
Hargitay said in 1986 that she never thought about doing television until a role on the one-hour adventure drama series Downtown was offered. In fact, she experienced difficulties in her efforts to begin a career as a Hollywood actor. Hargitay endured frequent comparisons to her mother.

### Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Casting for the lead characters of NBC police procedural television drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit occurred in the spring of 1999. Dick Wolf, along with officials from NBC and Studios USA, was at the final auditions for the two leads at Rockefeller Center. The last round had been narrowed down to six finalists. For the female lead – Detective Olivia Benson – Samantha Mathis, Reiko Aylesworth, and Hargitay were being considered. For the male lead – Detective Elliot Stabler – the finalists were Tim Matheson, John Slattery, and Christopher Meloni. Meloni and Hargitay had auditioned in the final round together, and after the actors left, there was a moment of dead silence, after which Wolf blurted out, "Oh well. There's no doubt who we should choose – Hargitay and Meloni." The duo, who Wolf believed had the perfect chemistry from the first time he saw them together, were his first choice. Garth Ancier, then head of NBC Entertainment, agreed, and the rest of the panel assembled voiced their assent.
Hargitay trained as a rape crisis advocate to prepare for the role of Benson. She has portrayed Benson since 1999. Hargitay won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the role. She received UCLA's TFT Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011 and was honored at the school's June commencement ceremony. During the last months of her pregnancy in 2006, Hargitay took maternity leave from SVU, and was temporarily replaced by Connie Nielsen, who portrayed Stabler's temporary partner Dani Beck.
In late December 2008, Hargitay suffered a partially collapsed lung after taking a fall during a stunt on the set of SVU. She underwent surgery in January and returned to work shortly afterward. On March 3, 2009, she was hospitalized after suffering from chest pains related to the injury. She missed one episode on SVU's tenth season. In May 2009, after the show's tenth season, Hargitay and Meloni's contracts expired when they were reportedly making $375,000–$385,000 per episode. During negotiations in April for a new contract, the duo attempted to receive a percentage of the show's profits as other high-profile Law and Order actors had done in the past. It was rumored that NBC threatened to replace Hargitay and Meloni if they persisted in their demands. However, two months later it was officially reported that both their contracts had been renewed for two more years. When the thirteenth season was about to air, initial reports indicated that Hargitay would appear in only the first 13 episodes. However, NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt later clarified that she would be in every episode of the season.
As of August 2012, Hargitay was earning approximately $400,000–$500,000 per episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2013 and 2014, she was ranked by Forbes as the second highest-paid television actress, only after Sofia Vergara of Modern Family. In the following years, Hargitay continued to be considered one of the highest-paid television actresses in the world, making well over $500,000 per episode.
In 2013, Hargitay was awarded with the 2,511th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her star was placed next to the star of her mother, which is located at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard. In July 2021, Hargitay suffered a broken ankle after taking a fall in the rain while leaving the screening of Black Widow. Her injury caused minor script changes and was written into the season 23 premiere of SVU. In 2025, Forbes named Hargitay as the 11th highest-paid actor of 2024, 2nd highest-paid actress after Nicole Kidman, and the highest-paid actor on television by a wide-margin, earning an estimated $750,000 per episode between acting, producing, and syndication profits from 26 seasons of SVU.

### Other work

In January 2007, she and her older son appeared in a Got Milk? advertisement.
At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Hargitay won the "Video of the Year" Award, shared with Taylor Swift and all of the celebrities that appeared in the music video for Swift's song "Bad Blood".
Hargitay produced a documentary, I Am Evidence released by HBO in 2018, following the thousands of untested rape kits; Hargitay called this lack of testing "the clearest and most shocking demonstration of how we regard these crimes in our country." The film received Best Documentary at the 40th News and Documentary Emmy Awards, winning Hargitay her second Emmy and first as a producer.
Hargitay was a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional December 19–20, 2022.

## Other activities
### Joyful Heart Foundation

Hargitay is the founder and former president of the Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization established in 2004 to provide support to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse and human trafficking. According to Hargitay, she was inspired by an encounter with a pod of dolphins that surrounded her while she was swimming off the coast of Hawaii at the age of 15. The encounter, which had ignited profound spiritual feelings within her, was one that Hargitay hoped to share with others.
In November 2009, Hargitay and the Joyful Heart Foundation built healing and wellness kits for women who suffered domestic violence and were currently in the Los Angeles County's domestic violence shelters. They created enough kits to give one to each of about 600 women. In California, the domestic violence services budget was in a major crisis, and shelters were forced to turn women away. Hargitay and her foundation donated money to the cause. Hargitay has worked with Michigan Police and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to raise awareness about the statistics of untested rape kits. Hargitay appeared in the 17th season of NBC's The More You Know public service announcements in 2006, and again in the spring of 2009. She is an honorary board member director of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
As of November 2010, the Joyful Heart Foundation has sent over 5,000 women and children on therapeutic programs in New York, Los Angeles, and Hawaii, which combine yoga, meditation, massage, journaling, and swimming with dolphins.
According to Hargitay, the Foundation has raised $20 million and helped approximately 5,000 survivors as of April 2011. Reference to the Joyful Heart Foundation was worked into episodes of Special Victims Unit, via a necklace containing two pendants representing the Foundation that Hargitay's character began wearing in the show's 13th season. The Foundation works with several brands to create products supporting the cause, including Me&Ro, Michael Stars, and AZIAM's Wife Lover Tanks.

### Continued activism and rape counseling

On September 27, 2011, Hargitay donated $100,000 to her alma mater, the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television for scholarship. In 2012, Hargitay campaigned for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Hargitay is a certified rape counselor.
As a rape survivor, Hargitay has called for an end to the stigma surrounding sexual assault. In a 2024 essay, she wrote, "Tell someone you’ve survived cancer, and you’re celebrated. I want the same response for sexual assault survivors. I want no shame with the victim."

## Personal life

On August 28, 2004, in Santa Barbara, California, Hargitay married Peter Hermann, an actor whom she met on the set of Law & Order: SVU, on which he plays the recurring role of defense attorney Trevor Langan. On June 28, 2006, Hargitay gave birth to their son, August, by an emergency caesarean section. In April 2011, she and her husband adopted a baby girl, Amaya, and attended her birth. In October 2011, she and her husband adopted a son, Andrew, who had been born in 2011.
Hargitay speaks five languages: English, French, Hungarian, Spanish, and Italian. She is the godmother to Sophia, one of co-star Christopher Meloni's children. Actress Hilary Swank is her daughter's godmother.
In a 2010 interview with Good Housekeeping, Hargitay stated that she considers herself a Christian.
In a personal essay published by People in 2024, Hargitay revealed that she is a survivor of rape. She credited other survivors for giving her strength.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Downtown | Jesse Smith | Main role |
| 1987–1988 | Falcon Crest | Carly Fixx | Recurring role |
| 1988 | In the Heat of the Night | Audine Higgs | Episode: "...And Then You Die" |
| 1988 | Freddy's Nightmares | Marsha Wildmon | Episode: "Freddy's Tricks and Treats" |
| 1989 | Finish Line | Lisa Karsh | TV movie |
| 1989 | Baywatch | Lisa Peters | Episode: "Second Wave" |
| 1990 | Wiseguy | Debbie Vitale | Episode: "Romp" |
| 1990 | thirtysomething | Courtney Dunn | Episode: "Fathers and Lovers" |
| 1990 | Booker | Michelle Larkina | Episode: "Black Diamond Run" |
| 1990 | Gabriel's Fire | Carmen | Episode: "Windows" |
| 1991 | Adam-12 | Michelle Brown | Episode: "Anatomy of a Rape" |
| 1992 | Tequila and Bonetti | Officer Angela Garcia | Main role |
| 1992 | Grapevine | Katie | Episode: "The Katie and Adam Story" |
| 1993 | Hotel Room | Diane | Episodes: "Getting Rid of Robert" & "Blackout" |
| 1993 | Blind Side | Melanie | TV movie |
| 1993 | Key West | Laurel | Episode: "Less Moonlight" |
| 1993 | Seinfeld | Melissa Shannon | Episode: "The Pilot" |
| 1994 | Gambler V: Playing for Keeps | Etta Place | TV movie |
| 1995 | All-American Girl | Jane | Episode: "Young Americans" |
| 1995–1996 | Can't Hurry Love | Didi Edelstein | Main role |
| 1996 | Ellen | Dara | Episode: "The Mugging" |
| 1996 | The Lazarus Man | The Angel Maker | Episode: "1.15" |
| 1996 | The Single Guy | Kate Conklin / Mounted Cop | 3 episodes |
| 1997 | Night Sins | Paige Price | TV movie |
| 1997 | Prince Street | Nina Echeverria | Recurring role; 6 episodes |
| 1997 | Cracker | Penny Hatfield | Episode: "True Romance 1" |
| 1997 | The Advocate's Devil | Rendi | TV movie |
| 1997–1998 | ER | Cynthia Hooper | Recurring role |
| 1999 | Love, American Style | Wendy | Segment: "Love and the Blind Date" |
| 1999–present | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Olivia Benson | Main role; producer & director |
| 2000–2024 | Law & Order | Olivia Benson | Recurring role |
| 2004 | Plain Truth | Ellie Harrison | TV movie |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Olivia Benson | Episode: "Day" |
| 2010 | Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List | Herself | Episode: "Kathy with a Z" |
| 2011 | Barefoot Contessa | Herself | Episode: "Sweet Charity" |
| 2014–2016 | Chicago P.D. | Olivia Benson | Episodes: "They'll Have to Go Through Me", "The Number of Rats" & "The Song of Gregory Williams Yates" |
| 2015 | Chicago Fire | Olivia Benson | Episode: "We Called Her Jellybean" |
| 2015 | The Jim Gaffigan Show | Herself | Episode: "Maria" |
| 2017 | Nightcap | Herself | Episode: "Guest in a Snake" |
| 2019 | Saturday Night Live | Olivia Benson | Cameo |
| 2021–present | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Olivia Benson | Recurring role |
| 2022 | Gutsy | Herself | Episode 3 |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Ghoulies | Donna | |
| 1986 | Welcome to 18 | Joey | |
| 1987 | Jocks | Nicole | |
| 1988 | Mr. Universe | Herself | |
| 1991 | Hard Time Romance | Anita | |
| 1991 | The Perfect Weapon | Jennifer | |
| 1991 | Strawberry Road | Jill Banner | |
| 1993 | Bank Robber | Marisa Benoit | |
| 1995 | Leaving Las Vegas | Hooker at Bar | |
| 1999 | Lake Placid | Myra Okubo | |
| 2001 | Perfume | Darcy | Credited as Marishka Hargitay |
| 2006 | Tales from Earthsea | Tenar | Voice role |
| 2008 | The Love Guru | Herself | Cameo |
| 2017 | I Am Evidence | Herself | Producer of documentary |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | True Crime: New York City | Lt. Deena Dixon | |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
| 1984 | "She Loves My Car" | Ronnie Milsap | |
| 2015 | "Bad Blood" | Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar | Justice |
| 2021 | "93 Days" | Grace Gaustad | Dr. Har |
| 2022 | "Disappear" | Grace Gaustad | |
| 2022 | "The Cloud" | Grace Gaustad | |