Mariska Magdolna Hargitay, born January 23, 1964, is an actress, director, and philanthropist from the United States. Her honors include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She is the daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield.
Hargitay made her cinematic debut in the horror comedy Ghoulies in 1985, and her significant television debut in the adventure drama series Downtown in 1986. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, she worked in a variety of film and television roles until obtaining the starring role of Olivia Benson on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present), for which she has gained widespread praise. In addition to acting, she started the Joyful Heart Foundation, which helps those who have been s*xually abused.
Family of Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay’s parents gave birth to her. Mickey Hargitay (father) and Jayne Mansfield (mother) are her parents’ names (Mother). Mr.Universe, her father, was a bodybuilder and an American actor. Her mother was a well-known American actress. She has two brothers and four sisters.
Mariska Hargitay’s Spouse and Children
Let us now discuss Mariska Hargitay’s marital status. She has a husband. She is married to American actor Peter Hermann. They married on August 28, 2004. Amaya Josephine Hermann, Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann, and August Miklos Friedrich Hermann are their three children.
Private Life of Hargitay
Hargitay is a devout Christian. Hargitay was involved in cheerleading, student government, athletics, and the theatrical programme at her Catholic secondary school, Marymount High School. She was interested in acting and attended UCLA after graduating from high school in 1982. Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA the same year. Hargitay had an agent and several little jobs under her belt by the time she was a freshman in college.
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She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television. She dropped out before finishing her degree. Hargitay attended Los Angeles’ Groundlings Theatre and School. She is fluent in five languages, including English, French, Hungarian, Spanish, and Italian. Hargitay is also one of Christopher Meloni’s godchildren.
Career: Televisions and Movie Highlights
Mariska was elected Miss Beverly Hills USA while in college, and she then competed in Miss California USA and was one of the finalists. Mariska had never considered acting on television until she was offered a role in the one-hour drama series Downtown.
She eventually had tiny roles on Seinfeld, Ellen, All-American Girl, Baywatch, In the Heat of the Night, thirtysomething, and other shows. Following that, Hargitay’s career shifted to the big screen, with a tiny appearance in the 1995 picture ‘Leaving Las Vegas.’
In 1999, Mariska had her breakout role in the NBC police procedural television series ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.’ The show’s creator, Dick Wolf, first thought she wasn’t the right match for the job, but it all worked out in the end for everyone. Surprisingly, she’s been on Law And Order for nearly two decades and is still the show’s face. In addition, she has been working as a director and producer on Law & Order: SVU since 2014.
Mariska Hargitay’s Net Worth
According to Forbes, the SVU actress has a much higher net worth than other TV stars, as she is the second highest-earning actress on television. She is paid approximately $450,000 every episode of the show, per season. Because the show lasted around 23 episodes, she earned approximately $10.3 million this season.
Mariska earned somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000 each episode in 2012. According to reports, she made between $375,000 and $385,000 per episode in 2009. Mariska Hargitay’s net worth is believed to be over $45 million as of 2019. According to Forbes, she earns extra money from the different licence deals.
Moreover, Hargitay earns a good living through endorsements and occasionally appears in TV ads. In January 2007, she and her son starred in the campaign ‘Got Milk?’
She Honored Jayne Mansfield
Mariska Hargitay is remembering her late mother, Jayne Mansfield, on the 55th anniversary of her untimely death. The 58-year-old “Law & Order: SVU” star posted a black-and-white photo of Mansfield on Instagram on Wednesday, commenting it, “We live to love you more each day.”
Hargitay’s mother died in a vehicle accident when she was three years old in 1967. Hargitay was in the back seat of the car at the time and escaped with minor injuries. Her late father, actor and former Mr. Universe bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, and his third wife, Ellen, brought up her and her two brothers and three half siblings.
