- In June 1967, she and her two brothers were asleep in the back seat of a car when it smashed into the back of a trailer truck instantly killing her mother (Jayne Mansfield), the driver and Mansfield's boyfriend, attorney Sam Brody. Miraculously, the three children escaped with minor injuries. Mariska has a zig-zag scar down the side of her head from the crash and has no memory of the event.
- Godmother of her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) co-star, Christopher Meloni's daughter Sophia.
- Founder and president of a non-profit organization to aid the victims of rape - The Joyful Heart Foundation.
- She can only remember two events from her life with her mother Jayne Mansfield, who died when Mariska was only three years old. One is when her mother served her breakfast, and the other is when she rubbed her head while they were in bed together.
- Has a photograph of her mother, Jayne Mansfield, on her desk on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).
- First woman ever from the Law and Order franchise to receive award nominations and wins.
- When Jayne Mansfield was three years old, her father, who was thirty-four years old, died of a heart attack, leaving her with a shattering void in her life. In a eerie coincidence, when Mariska was three years old, her mother, who was thirty-four years old, died in a car crash. Mariska would later say that "losing my mother at such an early age is the scar of my soul".
- Mariska and Peter Hermann adopted a baby girl, Amaya Josephine Hermann on April 7, 2011. Later the same year on October 19, 2011, they adopted a baby boy, Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann.
- She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 8, 2013. Her star is located right next to her mother Jayne Mansfield's star.
- She is a trained rape crisis counselor.
- She has played the same character (Olivia Benson) on six different series: Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), Chicago Fire (2012), Chicago P.D. (2014) and Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021).
- Gave birth, via C-section to her first child, a son, August Miklós Friedrich Hermann (10 lb., 9 oz.), on June 28, 2006 at 3:21PM.
- Won the Miss Beverly Hills 1982 pageant.
- With the premiere of SVU's 21st season in 2019, she broke the record for most seasons playing the same character (Olivia Benson) consecutively, after James Arness and Kelsey Grammer.
- Directed the 400th episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).
- On January 13, 2009, she suffered a partially collapsed lung, following a bad fall during a stunt.
- On one occasion, she came upon a pregnant woman who collapsed while in New York City. When no one else came to the woman's aid, she lapsed into her character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) while aiding the victim.
- Spoke in 2007 for Girl Scouts of Greater New York Scholars Program about her career and how she became who she is.
- Replaced Gabrielle Fitzpatrick in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995) as Dulcea, but her scenes were reshot with Gabrielle Fitzpatrick returning as Dulcea. In 2009, she said she was lucky enough to have a father who told her not to quit acting after that experience.
- Is good friends with singer Taylor Swift, who named her pet cat Olivia Benson, in tribute to Mariska's character on SVU. Likewise, Hargitay also appeared in the music video for Swift's song, "Bad Blood", as "Justice".
- Became good friends with Maria Bello when she had a recurring role on ER (1994) in 1997-1998.
- Daughter of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay; younger sister of Zoltan Hargitay and Mickey Hargitay Jr., half-sister of Jayne Marie Mansfield (Jayne's daughter from her first marriage), Tony Cimber (from her mother's third marriage), and of Tina Hargitay (from her father's first marriage with Mary Birge, born 1949).
- One of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
- On August 28, 2004, she married Peter Hermann at California's Unitarian Historical Chapel.
- She learned to swim at the age of two and later swam for her high school.
- She auditioned for the roles of Annie Porter in Speed (1994) and Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).
- Her father was Hungarian, while her American-born mother was of seven eighths British Isles (English and Cornish), and one eighth German, ancestry. Mariska's maternal grandparents were Vera J. Palmer and Herbert W. Palmer.
- She remains the only original cast member of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) to still be with the series. Christopher Meloni left the show after season twelve while Dann Florek and Richard Belzer both departed mid-way through season fifteen.
- Majored in theatre at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
- In 1992, she was engaged to a studio executive, Lance Young, but later broke off the engagement.
- Aunt of Jianni Cimber (Tony's daughter), Brandon and Mickey Hargitay III.
- Elizabeth Taylor's favorite actress. They first met when Taylor was filming 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' when Mariska was a child. Taylor also stated that she had seen every single episode.
- Mariska trained with Joanne Baron in the two-year Meisner program.
- Born at 5:58 AM (PST).
- Former sister-in-law of Dana Hargitay, ex-wife of her brother Miklos.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content