Early life

Hargitay was born at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of actress and 1950s-era sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. Her father was the Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. Her first and middle names are Hungarian and refer to Mary Magdalene (Mariska is a diminutive of Mary). Hargitay was raised Roman Catholic. She has two older brothers, Miklos and Zoltan, and three half-siblings, Jayne Marie Mansfield and Antonio "Tony" Cimber (from her mother's first and third marriages, respectively) and Tina Hargitay (from her father's first marriage).

Hargitay's parents divorced in May 1963, but a judge later found their Mexican divorce invalid. They reconciled a few months before Hargitay's birth in January 1964, but soon separated again. In August 1964 her mother successfully petitioned the court to rule the Mexican divorce legal. A few weeks later, Mansfield married the director Matt Cimber, who had directed her in a 1964 production of the William Inge play Bus Stop. On June 29, 1967, Mansfield was killed in an automobile accident on a stretch of U.S. Route 90 between New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Her boyfriend, Sam Brody, and the driver were also killed. Asleep in the back of the vehicle, Hargitay, then three and a half years old, was left with a zigzag scar on one side of her head. Her brothers Miklós and Zoltán were also in the car, but escaped with minor injuries. After the death of their mother, the three siblings were raised by their father and his third wife, Ellen Siano. Hargitay dislikes comparisons with her famous mother and at age 18 said, "My dad was Mr. Universe, so it would be fun for me to be Miss Universe."

While a student at her Catholic secondary school, Marymount High School, Hargitay was active in cheerleading, student government, athletics, and the theater program. She enjoyed acting and enrolled at UCLA after graduation from high school in 1982. That same year, Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA. By the time she was a freshman in college, Hargitay had an agent and several small roles to her credit. She attended UCLA School of Theater Film and Television (where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma). She left before completing her degree when she began her acting career.

Hargitay attended Groundlings Theatre and School in Los Angeles. Her improv teacher was Kathy Griffin. Griffin stated in an interview, "We started class, and in the Groundlings curriculum, one of the first exercises you do is the cliched 'trust' game. I made everyone stand in a circle, with me in the center, and I said, being onstage, you have to trust your fellow actors, especially when you're an improviser. You're going to be there for each other, and they're going to be there for you. For example, I'm going to fall back, knowing that you'll catch me. Then I let myself fall backward, and sure enough, I was caught. Everyone gets out some nervous laughter, and then they all took turns doing it. By the time it got around to Mariska Hargitay, we'd already done it with ten or eleven students, and they had clearly gotten the point. Then it was Mariska's turn. 'Okay, Mariska, cross your arms in front of you and gently fall back,' I said. She fell back and nobody caught her. She fell flat on her ass. I was horrified. This had never happened in one of my classes before."

Career

In 1982, after Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA, she then competed in the Miss California USA pageant the following year, placing fourth runner-up to Julie Hayek, who was later crowned Miss USA. In 1984, she appeared in Ronnie Milsap's music video for "She Loves My Car". A year later she had a small role in the horror film, Ghoulies.

Hargitay said in 1986 that she never thought about doing television until a role for the one-hour adventure drama series Downtown was offered. In 1988, she had a recurring role as Carly Fixx in the soap opera Falcon Crest. She portrayed police officer Angela Garcia in the 1992 series Tequila and Bonetti, and appeared in an episode of the fourth season of Seinfeld. Two years later, Hargitay portrayed Didi Edelstein, the sexy next-door neighbor, in the 1995 sitcom Can't Hurry Love, which starred Nancy McKeon. In 1997, Hargitay played detective Nina Echeverria on the drama series Prince Street, and had a recurring role as Cynthia Hooper during the fourth season of ER. Hargitay has appeared on numerous other television programs, including: Freddy's Nightmares; Ellen; All-American Girl; Baywatch; Cracker; Gabriel's Fire; In the Heat of the Night; The Single Guy; Wiseguy, and thirtysomething. Her voice is featured on the 2005 video game True Crime: New York City.

Hargitay also had a minor role in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas, and briefly replaced Gabrielle Fitzpatrick as Dulcea, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, although her scenes were cut from the film and was let go when Fitzpatrick recovered from her surgery and returned to the film.

In January 2007 she and her son, August, appeared in a Got Milk? advertisement.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Casting for the lead characters of NBC police procedural television drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit occurred in the spring of 1999. Dick Wolf, along with officials from NBC and Studios USA, were at the final auditions for the two leads at Rockefeller Center. The last round had been narrowed down to six finalists. For the female lead - Detective Olivia Benson - Samantha Mathis, Reiko Aylesworth, and Hargitay were being considered. For the male role - Detective Elliot Stabler - the finalists were Tim Matheson, John Slattery, and Christopher Meloni. Meloni and Hargitay had auditioned in the final round together and after the actors left, there was a moment of dead silence, after which Wolf blurted out, "Oh well. There's no doubt who we should choose - Hargitay and Meloni." The duo, who Wolf believed had the perfect chemistry from the first time he saw them together, were his first choice. Garth Ancier, then head of NBC Entertainment, agreed, and the rest of the panel assembled voiced their assent. Hargitay trained as a rape crisis advocate to prepare for the role of Benson.

During the last months of her pregnancy in 2006, she took maternity leave from SVU, and was temporarily replaced by Connie Nielsen.

In May 2009, after the show's tenth season, Hargitay and Meloni's contracts expired when they were reportedly making $375,000-$385,000 per episode. During negotiations in April for a new contract, the duo attempted to receive a percentage of the show's profits as other high-profile Law and Order actors had done in the past. It was rumored that NBC threatened to replace Hargitay and Meloni if they persisted in their demands. However, two months later it was officially reported that both their contracts had been renewed for two more years. When the thirteenth season was about to air, initial reports indicated that Hargitay would appear in only the first 13 episodes. However, NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt later clarified that she would be in every episode of the season.

As of August 2012, Hargitay was earning approximately $400,000 - $500,000 per episode.

Personal life

Hargitay speaks five languages: English, Hungarian, French, Spanish, and Italian. This is a talent that she has displayed on the show several times, such as by mirandizing and interrogating suspects who do not speak English.

On August 28, 2004, in Santa Barbara, California, Hargitay married Peter Hermann, an actor whom she met on the set of Law & Order: SVU, on which he plays the recurring role of Defense Attorney Trevor Langan. On June 28, 2006, Hargitay gave birth to their son, August Miklos Friedrich Hermann, by an emergency caesarean section. In April 2011 she and her husband adopted Amaya Josephine and attended her birth. In October 2011, she and her husband adopted a baby boy, Andrew Nicolas Hargitay Hermann, who had been born in mid-2011.

Upon winning her Emmy on August 27, 2006, Hargitay made a point of thanking her father for everything he had done for her in her life. Just 17 days later, on September 14, 2006, her father died from multiple myeloma in Los Angeles, California, at age 80.

Health problems

In late December 2008, Hargitay suffered a partially collapsed lung after taking a fall during a stunt on the set of SVU. She underwent surgery in January and returned to work shortly afterward. On March 3, 2009, she was hospitalized after suffering chest pains related to the injury. It was disclosed that she would probably need more surgery. Despite this, she missed only one episode on SVU's tenth season.

Charity work

Hargitay is founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization established in 2004 to provide support to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. According to Hargitay, she was inspired by an encounter with a school of dolphins that surrounded her while she was swimming off the coast of Hawaii at the age of 15. The encounter, which had ignited profound spiritual feelings within her, was one that Hargitay hoped to share with others. As of November 2010, the Joyful Heart Foundation has sent over 5,000 women and children on therapeutic programs in New York, Los Angeles, and Hawaii, which combine yoga, meditation, massage, journaling, and swimming with dolphins. According to Hargitay,

I started getting fan mail from survivors who felt a connection to Olivia. In many of these letters, people would disclose their personal stories of abuse—some for the very first time. I remember getting the sense that many were living in isolation with so much shame, but the shame belonged to the perpetrators. I wanted to help find a way to help people reclaim their lives and live them with a renewed sense of possibility and hope. And that's what we work to do every day at Joyful Heart.

According to Hargitay, the Foundation has raised $20 million and helped approximately 5,000 survivors as of April 2011. Reference to the Joyful Heart Foundation was worked into episodes of Special Victims Unit, via a necklace containing two pendants representing the Foundation that Hargitay's character began wearing in the show's 13th season.

Hargitay has worked with Michigan Police and Wayne Country Prosecutor Kym Worthy to raise awareness about the statistics of untested rape kits. While planning to produce a documentary called Shelved, about the thousands of untested rape kits, Hargitay has said:

the clearest and most shocking demonstration of how we regard these crimes in our country.

Hargitay appeared in the 17th season of NBC's The More You Know public service announcements in 2006, and again in the spring of 2009. She is an honorary board member director of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

On September 27, 2011, Hargitay donated $100,000 to her alma mater, the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television for scholarship.

In 2012, Hargitay campaigned for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

On February 17, 2012, Hargitay made a donation of $35,800 to the Obama Victory Fund, the maximum individual contribution allowed by law.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Downtown	Jesse Smith	14 episodes
1988	In the Heat of the Night	Audine Higgs	Episode: "...And Then You Die"
1988	Freddy's Nightmares	Marsha Wildmon	Episode: "Freddy's Tricks and Treats"
1988	Falcon Crest	Carly Fixx	15 episodes
1989	Finish Line	Lisa Karsh	Television film
1989	Baywatch	Lisa Peters	Episode: "Second Wave"
1990	Wiseguy	Debbie Vitale	Episode: "Romp"
1990	thirtysomething	Courtney Dunn	Episode: "Fathers and Lovers"
1990	Booker	Michelle Larkina	Episode: "Black Diamond Run"
1990	Gabriel's Fire	Carmen	Episode: "Windows"
1992	Tequila and Bonetti	Officer Angela Garcia	11 episodes
1992	Grapevine	Katie	Episode: "The Katie and Adam Story"
1993	Hotel Room	Diane	Episode: "Getting Rid of Robert" Episode: "Blackout"
1993	Blind Side	Melanie	Television film
1993	Key West	Laurel	Episode: "Less Moonlight"
1993	Seinfeld	Melissa Shannon	Episode: "The Pilot"
1994	Gambler V: Playing for Keeps	Etta Place	Television film
1995	All-American Girl	Jane	Episode: "Young Americans"
1995	Can't Hurry Love	Didi Edelstein	19 episodes
1996	Ellen	Dara	Episode: "The Mugging"
1996	Single Guy, TheThe Single Guy	Kate Conklin/The Mounted Cop	Episode: "Mounted Cop" Episode: "Kept Man" Episode: "The Virgin"
1997	Night Sins	Paige Price	Television film
1997	Prince Street	Det. Nina Echeverria	6 episodes
1997	Cracker	Det. Penny Hatfield	Episode: "True Romance 1"
1997	The Advocate's Devil	Rendi	Television film
1997-98	ER	Cynthia Hooper	13 episodes
1999	Love, American Style	Wendy	Segment: "Love And The Blind Date"
1999-present	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Detective/Sergeant/Lieutenant Olivia Benson	385 episodes
2000, 2005	Law & Order		Episode: "Entitled" Episode: "Fools For Love" Episode: "Flaw"
2004	Plain Truth	Ellie Harrison	Television film
2005	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Detective Olivia Benson	Episode: "Day"
2010	Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List	Herself	Episode: "Kathy with a Z"
2011	Barefoot Contessa	Herself	Episode: "Sweet Charity"
2014-15	Chicago P.D.	Sergeant/Lieutenant Olivia Benson	Episode: "They'll Have to Go Through Me" Episode: "The Number of Rats" Episode: "The Song of Gregory Williams Yates"
2015	Chicago Fire		Episode: "We Called Her Jellybean"
2015	The Jim Gaffigan Show	Herself	Episode: "Maria"

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Ghoulies	Donna
1986	Welcome to 18	Joey
1987	Jocks	Nicole
1988	Mr. Universe	Herself	(Mickey Hargitay's daughter)
1991	Hard Time Romance	Anita
1991	Perfect Weapon, TheThe Perfect Weapon	Jennifer
1991	Strawberry Road	Jill Banner
1993	Bank Robber	Marisa Benoit
1995	Leaving Las Vegas	Hooker at Bar
1999	Lake Placid	Myra Okubo
2001	Perfume	Darcy	(as Marishka Hargitay)
2006	Tales from Earthsea	Tenar	Voice
2008	Love Guru, TheThe Love Guru	Herself	Cameo

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	True Crime: New York City	Deena Dixon	Voice

Director

Year	Title	Notes
2014-16	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	4 episodes

Producer

Year	Title	Notes
2014-present	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	seasons 16, 17

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Role	Ref
2015	"Bad Blood"	Taylor Swift	Justice

Awards and accolades

Hargitay won an Emmy and Golden Globe for her role as Detective Olivia Benson. She received UCLA's TFT Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011 and was honored at the school's June commencement ceremony. Hargitay was awarded with the 2,511th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 8, 2013. Her star is placed next to the star of her mother, which is located at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard.

All award and nominations are for the television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, except for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, won by Taylor Swift and all of the celebrities that appeared in the music video for her song "Bad Blood".

Year	Award	Category	Result
2000	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Drama	Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series	Nominated
	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actress in a New Series	Nominated
2004	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
	Prism Awards	Performance in a Drama Series Episode	Nominated
	Gracie Allen Awards	Individual Achievement for Best Female Lead - Drama - Series	Won
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
2005	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama	Won
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
2006	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Won
2007	TV Land Awards	Favorite Lady Gumshoe	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
	Prism Awards	Performance in a Drama Series Episode	Won
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
2008	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
2009	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female TV Star	Nominated
	Gracie Allen Awards	Outstanding Female Lead - Drama Series	Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama	Nominated
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
2010	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Drama Actress	Nominated
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Crime Fighter	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
2012	Muse Awards	New York Women in Film & Television	Won
	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actress	Nominated
2013	Star on the Walk of Fame	Television	Won
2014	People's Choice Awards	People's Choice for Best Dramatic Actress	Nominated
	Prism Awards	Female Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline	Nominated
	Gracie Allen Awards	Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama	Won
	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actress	Nominated
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress	Nominated
	MTV Video Music Award	Video of the Year	Won

Charities

Mariska Hargitay supports the following charitable causes: Rape/Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence, ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis), Women's Issues.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]