Mariska Hargitay

Mariska Hargitay is the youngest daughter of New York actress Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay. She was born in Santa Monica, California. When Mariska was three years old, she was in a car accident that killed her mother, and her mother’s boyfriend, Sam Brody. Amazingly, although Jayne and Sam were killed instantly, Mariska and her two brothers were largely unhurt. Mariska suffered an injury to her face from the Jayne Mansfield car crash which left a zigzag scar.

Although she could have become a typical Hollywood star, Mariska Hargitay starred on “Law & Order” and “ER” as real life characters. She reported that the intense scripting of these shows occasionally left her sleepless at night. Once when she was in New York City, she discovered a distressed pregnant woman. Since no one else was around to help the woman, Mariska took over as her character on Law and Order: Special Victims would have.

Mariska was nominated for an Emmy award from 2004 to 2008, and won the 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won the 2005 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2009.