Mariska Hargitay Opens Up About Her Family History — What She Shared Surprised Fans
Mariska Hargitay Reveals Mickey Hargitay Is Not Her Biological Father — Who Is Her Real Dad?
The actress recently revealed a decades-old truth in an interview that rocked her identity and made her doubt everything she believed to be true.
Mariska Hargitay talked candidly in a recent interview with Vanity Fair about a long-kept family secret that will be exposed in her upcoming documentary, “My Mom Jayne.” The “Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit” star revealed that her biological father is actually Italian musician Nelson Sardelli, despite having been brought up as the daughter of Hollywood powerhouse Mickey Hargitay.
Mariska clarified that her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, had a brief affair with Nelson in 1963 and then reunited with Mickey before Mariska was born in 1964.
But when someone showed Mariska a picture of the Italian singer when she was in her twenties, she recognized him as her biological father right away. The actress remembers having the impression that the floor had collapsed beneath her.
The only results of confronting Mickey were denial and intense feelings. As a result, Mariska never brought up the topic again, and in 2006, the man she had always considered her father died.
The actress eventually found Nelson in her 30s while he was performing in Atlantic City. She didn’t welcome him, even though he broke down in tears and informed her that he had been waiting for that moment for decades.
Mariska made it apparent that she was just interested in the truth by assuming the persona of Olivia Benson, her strong on-screen persona. “I thought, ‘I don’t need anything from you, and I don’t want anything.'” I have a father. Loyalty was a factor. She revealed, “I wanted to be faithful to Mickey.”
Nevertheless, their conversation’s emotional burden persisted. It sparked years of internal struggle regarding her origins and identity. At least not right away, the meeting did not result in closure.
Rather, she was forced to navigate a storm of introspection, including why she had always felt so at ease on childhood vacations in Italy, why some aspects of her identity had always felt fragmented, and whether she was the result of secret or love.
However, she eventually started to get to know Nelson and his family. Although it wasn’t easy, it helped her comprehend her past and her mother’s decisions on a deeper level.
She realized that Jayne had gone back to Mickey because she trusted him to give baby Mariska the kind of stable, caring environment she deserved.
“I know that everyone made the right decision for me, and I grew up where I was meant to. I am not lying when I say that I am Mickey Hargitay’s daughter.
With tears in her eyes, the actress said, “This documentary is kind of a love letter to him because there’s no one that I was closer to on this planet.”
Nelson was making a reputation for himself long before his name reappeared in news about Mariska’s past. He moved in the United States in 1956 and settled in Pontiac, Michigan, after being born in Brazil to Italian parents who had relocated there in the 1920s.
After one brush with a catheter, he realized his true calling wasn’t in a hospital or behind a desk. He began his career at General Motors doing economic research.
With a microphone and a tiny $27.50 gig at a nearby tavern, Nelson got his big break. One day, a profile in a Brazilian sports magazine called him a “international entertainer.” A few songs led to frequent bookings.
Despite early disappointments, he developed his performance to include comedy with his innate charisma and witty wit, and he soon opened for legendary performers like Judy Garland.
In Vegas lounges and elsewhere, his fusion of stand-up, music, and theatrical flair proved popular.
Hollywood quickly followed. His Italian charm and humorous timing helped him win roles in movies like “The Professionals” and “Myra Breckinridge,” where he stood out.
He described the incident with the exuberant comedy that would come to define his career: Mae West herself handpicked him for the role. Nelson joked that he was “the highest-paid unknown” by the early 2000s, having worked stages from the Catskills to Atlantic City. He took pride in this designation.
But as he and Mariska became closer and the actress came to terms with her reality, a new problem arose: how to communicate it.
“My Mom Jayne” was a highly personal effort of healing as much as an artistic venture. However, it was difficult to persuade her family that it was necessary.
When she said, “There was a lot of hesitation,” Some family members found it difficult to comprehend why she felt the need to reveal her traumas in front of cameras.
But eventually, the Sardellis and the Hargitays, two branches of her extended family, not only changed their minds but also consented to take part.
The first to speak up was Nelson, who opened up about his feelings for the documentary. Jayne Marie, Zoltan, and Mickey Jr., Mariska’s Hargitay siblings, also shared their unvarnished, honest thoughts, demonstrating the profound effects of silence and secrecy.
They sat arm in arm when they eventually saw the finished movie together in a theater in Los Angeles.
“It felt like decades of fragmented memories were finally being stitched into something whole — something they could finally face together,” the actress said, characterizing the scene as cathartic.
A private showing with her Sardelli sisters later in Las Vegas was as devastating. They both sobbed aloud, and she did too.
Mariska had presented them for years as “family friends,” reducing them to a minor detail in her public persona. She said, “I’m not good with lies,” as tears filled her eyes. “This movie is also for them — a way to unburden us all.”
The “Law &Order: Special Victims Unit” actor is now getting ready to bring “My Mom Jayne” to Cannes, the same city where her mother once walked the red carpet, following a trip that has taken decades to accomplish.
Reviving her mother’s narrative at the Croisette holds great personal significance for Mariska Hargitay. “The fact that I get to take her back and tell her story there, I just don’t have the words,” she remarked, almost shaking with excitement.
She thought back on the thirty years it took to get to this point as the premiere drew closer. “It’s wild,” she remarked, her eyes bright. “I feel like I’m seven.”
