Mariska Hargitay has made quite a name for herself starring as the Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU for over twenty years, but before her, her mom and dad were just as famous as she is now.
Yes, television's favorite detective is in fact a "nepo baby." Her parents were Jayne Mansfield, often considered a counterpart to Marilyn Monroe, and Mickey Hargitay, a Hungarian-American actor and the 1955 Mr. Universe.
However, famous as Jayne was – she was a Playboy Playmate and starred in movies such as A Guide for the Married Man and Dog Eat Dog – her fame was unfortunately short-lived, having died in a car crash in 1967. Mickey, however, passed away in 2006.
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Before her untimely death, Jayne was married three times – she was known for publicizing much of her personal life and even publicity stunts – Mariska's father being her second husband. She first married Paul Mansfield in 1950, and before their 1958 divorce, they had one daughter, Jayne Marie Mansfield.
With Mickey, who she was married to from 1958 to 1964, she had three children. Her eldest is Mickey Hargitay Jr., 64, then they had Zoltan, 62, and her third with Mickey is Mariska, who is 59. Her fifth and youngest child is Tony Climber, 58, whose father is Matt Climber. Jayne was married to him from 1964 until 1966.
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Mariska was only three and a half years old when her mom tragically passed away in a car crash in Biloxi, Mississippi in June of 1967.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMickey and Jayne at a 1956 Halloween party in Los Angeles
After two appearances at the Gus Stevens Supper Club, she was headed to New Orleans, with her kids Mariska, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan in tow, as well as with her attorney Sam Brody and their driver Ronnie Harrison, who was twenty years old.
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Close to 2:30am on US Highway 90, their 1966 Buick Electra 225 crashed head-on at high speed to the back of a tractor trailer that had slowed down.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMariska in 2013 with her siblings and stepmother
The three adults sitting in the front died instantly from severe head trauma, while the three kids, who were asleep in the rear seat, only faced minor injuries.
Despite the family tragedy, Mariska appears to have a good relationship with her siblings still – her father also had a daughter, Tina Hargitay, with Mary Birge prior to his relationship with Jayne – and when she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013, Zoltan, Mickey and Jayne, plus her stepmother Ellen Hargitay, née Siano, were right by her side.
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