Mariska Hargitay is called after the person who raised her, bodybuilder-turned-actor Mickey Hargitay, following the loss of life of her mom, Playmate-turned-actor Jayne Mansfield. However the Legislation & Order: SVU star discovered in her 20s that her organic father is definitely the singer Nelson Sardelli, and he or she’s revealing that household secret in her new documentary, My Mother Jayne (airing on HBO on Friday, June 27), and in a brand new interview.
As is public data, Mansfeld dated Sardelli in 1963 throughout relationship troubles with Mickey, from whom she filed for divorce. Mansfield reconciled with Mickey earlier than giving she gave delivery to Mariska in 1964, although the 2 would break up once more earlier than Mansfield’s loss of life in 1967 at age 34.
And as she shares within the documentary, Mariska was in her 20s when somebody confirmed her a photograph of Sardelli, and he or she instantly knew he was her organic father. “It was like the ground fell out from beneath me,” she says in My Mother Jayne, per Vainness Truthful. “Like my infrastructure dissolved.”
Mariska confronted Mickey in regards to the revelation, however he denied it, and the 2 by no means mentioned the matter once more. Mickey died in 2006 at age 80.
Then, when she was 30, Hargitay attended one among Sardelli’s performances in Atlantic Metropolis, New Jersey, and launched herself. Sardelli burst into tears, saying, “I’ve been ready 30 years for this second,” as Mariska advised Vainness Truthful in a brand new interview.
It was an emotional reunion for Hargitay, too, in a unique sense. “I went full Olivia Benson on him,” she recalled, referring to her SVU character. “I used to be like, ‘I don’t need something, I don’t want something from you. … I’ve a dad.’ There was one thing about loyalty. I needed to be loyal to Mickey.”
Ultimately, nevertheless, Hargitay bonded with Sardelli and his daughters, and the singer even participated within the documentary. And Hargitay realized that Mansfield went again to Mickey as a result of she knew Mickey would give Mariska a steady, loving residence.
“I grew up the place I used to be alleged to, and I do know that everybody made your best option for me. I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter — that isn’t a lie,” she tearfully advised Vainness Truthful. “This documentary is sort of a love letter to him, as a result of there’s nobody that I used to be nearer to on this planet.”
Now Hargitay is married to actor Peter Hermann, and two of their three kids are adopted. “They’re my children,” she mentioned within the interview. “Now I perceive a lot, and, boy, is it candy.”
My Mother Jayne, Friday, June 27, HBO & HBO Max