Mariska Hargitay Quotes
About Author
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 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 spin-off of Law & Order, for which she received critical acclaim, including an Emmy and 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. Since 2013, Hargitay is considered one of the highest-paid television actresses in the world. Hargitay's role as Benson 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 became a certified rape counselor and integrated some of the Foundation's work into the show. Hargitay has engaged in initiatives to support domestic violence shelters, raise awareness about untested rape kits, and contributed to other causes, including donating to UCLA. She co-produced the HBO documentary film I Am Evidence, which focused on the backlog of untested rape kits in various police departments. The film won the 2017 News & Documentary Emmy Award for Best Documentary.
Hargitay has two older brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, and three half-siblings. On June 29, 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 aged 80.