Personal Details
- Born: January 23, 1964
- Nationality: American
- Birthplace: Santa Monica, California
- Full name: Mariska Magdolna Hargitay.
- Daughter of actress and 1950s Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield and actor/bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay.
- Married to actor Peter Hermann; they have three children.
- She has spoken publicly about losing her mother at a very young age and the complicated relationship she had with her mother’s legacy.
Professional Details
- Actress, producer, director, and philanthropist.
- Best known for playing Detective/Sergeant/Lieutenant/Captain Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- She has portrayed Benson since 1999, making the character one of the longest-running roles in American primetime television.
- Won the 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for SVU.
- Also won a News & Documentary Emmy in 2019 as a producer of I Am Evidence, a documentary about the backlog of untested sexual-assault kits.
- Founded the Joyful Heart Foundation, which works to support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.
- In 2025, she made her feature-documentary directing debut with My Mom Jayne, exploring her mother’s life, career, death, and legacy.
- The documentary became particularly significant because it allowed Hargitay to explore her relationship with her mother decades after Mansfield’s death.
- In September 2026, Hargitay won two Creative Arts Emmys for My Mom Jayne—Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program.
- She is also set to host the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14.
- Law & Order: SVU is continuing into Season 28, with Hargitay returning as Olivia Benson.
