Biography of Mariska
Mariska Hargitay was born on January 23rd, 1964 in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of legendary actress Jane Mansfield and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. When she was eighth months old her parents divorced. She is the youngest of five children. On June 29th, 1967, when Mariska was three years old, she along with her two brothers, her mom and her boyfriend were in a car accident. Jane Mansfield and her boyfriend were killed but Mariska and her brothers escaped with minor injuries. Mariska was left with a scar on the top of her forehead and doesn't remember any of it. After the car crash, Mariska and her brothers were raised by Mickey Hargitay and his wife Ellen. She attended Marymount High School and became an overachiever. She became involved in student government, sports and other activites. At the age of 17 she received a part in her school play which made her start thinking about becoming an actress. From then on she did anything she could to get on stage. Later on she attended UCLA college to study acting. She dropped out just before graduating to start her career. Her first film feature was a horror movie called The Ghoulies. After that she took other acting jobs that were offered to her. However there was a period of time when no work was coming in forcing her to take jobs as a waitress and elementary school teacher. Near Baer who at the time was the executive producer of ER offered her a role as Cynthia Hooper. When her character was written out, her agent told her about a new series called Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. It was her dream role. She got the part of Junior Detective Olivia Benson along side Chris Meloni playing Detective Elliot Stabler. When she started on the show crime had never played any significant role in her life. It opened her eyes to the grim reality of sexual violence in this world. It wasn't only the scripts that were hard to deal with, it was the letters she began receiving from survivors of sexual assault sharing their stories, some for the very first time. They spoke to her as if she was really Olivia Benson. She knew she had to do something. She responded by training as a rape crisis counselor and starting the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004. Their mission is to heal, educate, and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse and to shed light onto the darkness that surrounds these issues. They take week long retreats to swim with dolphins and participate in other joyful activities. For more information visit www.joyfulheartfoundation.org. On August 28th, 2004 she married actor Peter Hermann whom she had met on the set of SVU while he played "a dirtbag defense attorney". In late June 2006 they welcome their son- August Miklos Friedrich Hermann. She and her family have adopted Amaya Josephine. They are so excited to have a multi-racial family and a new baby around. Big brother August is in love with her. For the second time this year, the Hargitay-Hermann family have brought another child into their family. Andrew Nicholas is the newest addition to their growing family. Mariska has won many awards over the years including an emmy award, a golden globe, 2 gracies and a prism. Her life has been quite the journey and she continues to be the best that she can be. She continues to learn more about being a good mom, wife, friend and actress each day.