Mariska Hargitay Biography

Mariska Hargitay, actress

Birthdate: January 23, 1964

Birthplace: Santa Monica, California

Sign:Aquarius

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay was born in Santa Monica, California to actress Jayne Mansfield and former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay, from Hungary. Her parents were married in Mexico, but had an on-again off-again relationship and eventually separated and divorced in August 1964. Her mother then married director Matt Chamber.

Mariska's mother was killed in an automobile accident in June of 1967, along with her boyfriend Sam Brody and the driver of the car. Marisa was asleep in the back of the car, only three-and-a-half years old and suffered a scar on one side of her head as a result. After her mother's death, her father raised her and her three siblings.

Hargitay became active in theater at a young age, entering into the theater program at Marymount High School. She went on to attend the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television, but dropped out six months before graduation to enter into an acting career.

She entered into public life in 1982 after she was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA and went on to become the fourth runner up at the Miss California USA Pageant. She made her big screen debut in "Star 80" and eventually began to gain other roles in television series such as "Downtown" and "Falcon Crest." In 1992, she went on to appear as Angela Garcia in the series "Tequila & Bonetti" and the in the fourth episode of "Seinfeld."

She continued her work in television, taking a role in the series "Can't Hurry Love" and "Prince Street." She also had a recurring role in "ER" as Cynthia Hooper. Her other work in television includes "Freddy's Nightmares," "Ellen," "All American Girl," "Baywatch," "Cracker," "Gabriel's Fire," "In the Heat of the Night," "JoJo's Circus," "The Single Guy," "Wiseguy," and "thirtysomething."

Hargitay became a household name when she began portraying Detective Olivia Benson in the crime drama series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She eventually was named as one of the "highest paid TV actresses" according to the Guinness Book of World Records 2008 Edition.

In August of 2004, she married actor and writer Peter Hermann, who has also appeared on "SVU" as Defense Attorney Trevor Langan. She gave birth to a son in June of 2006 named August Miklos Friedrich Hermann.

In 2005, she won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series. In 2007, Hargitay then won an Emmy for her role on the series, after being nominated for several years.

She is active in charity and co-founded the Joyful Heart Foundation. She also works with the Mount Sinai Sexual Assault and Violence intervention program, NBC's "The More You Know" Campaign, Safe Horizon, Santa Monica's Rape Crisis Treatment Center, Project ALS and the Girl Scouts of the USA. She also works as an honorary board member for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.