Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (/məˈrɪʃkə ˈhɑːrɡɪteɪ/; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, director, producer and philanthropist. The daughter of the Hungarian-American bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, two People's Choice Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Hargitay's interest in acting began while attending Marymount High School in Los Angeles, followed by enrolling in the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. In 1982, Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA. She left UCLA before completing her degree and pursued acting with minor roles in films and television shows, including the 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas. Her subsequent notable appearances included recurring roles in several 1990s TV dramas, such as Falcon Crest, Tequila and Bonetti, Can't Hurry Love and ER. Hargitay's breakthrough came in 1999 when she was cast to portray Detective Olivia Benson in NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a police procedural crime drama and a spin-off of Law and Order, for which she received critical acclaim, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
In 2019, SVU became the longest-running drama in American prime-time television and Hargitay's portrayal of Benson became the longest-running character in a prime-time American TV drama. Hargitay's role as Olivia Benson on SVU influenced her philanthropic work and activism, leading her to found the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to people who have been sexually abused. She also became a certified rape counselor and integrated some of the Foundation's work into the show. Hargitay has also engaged in various initiatives to support domestic violence shelters, raise awareness about untested rape kits, and contributed to other causes, including donating to her alma mater, UCLA.
Hargitay has two older brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, and three half-siblings. On June 28, 1967, the three-year-old Hargitay was one of the passengers involved in a tragic car accident on U.S. Highway 90 near New Orleans that killed her mother, Jayne Mansfield, and left Hargitay with a zigzag scar on her head. Raised by her father and his third wife following Manfield's death, Hargitay expressed a lifelong impact from the loss of her mother. Her father died in 2006 at the age of 80. Hargitay married actor Peter Hermann in 2004 with whom she has three children.