- Source of Wealth: Film, Television
- Age: 56
- Birth Place: Santa Monica, California, USA
- Height: 5′ 7½” (1.71 m)
- Weight: 120 lbs (54 kg)
- Marital Status: Married (Peter Hermann)
- Full Name: Mariska Magdolna Hargitay
- Nationality: American
- Date of Birth: January 23, 1964
- Ethnicity: Hungarian, German, English
- Occupation: Actress
- Education: University of California Los Angeles
- Children: 3 (August Miklos Friedrich, Amaya Josephine and Andrew Nicolas Hargitay)
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress with an estimated net worth of $50 million. She is a part of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is the franchise’s strongest effort to date, averaging an estimated 53 million viewers each week including original episodes and extensive syndication. Hargitay, rewarded with an Emmy and Golden Globe for her work on the show, is probably one of the big reasons why. She takes her work home with her. After playing sex crime detective Olivia Benson for twelve years, she has founded her own non-profit The Joyful Heart Foundation to confront childhood sexual abuse.
Hargitay is the daughter of legendary sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. Instead, from her breakthrough performance as a vulnerable single mother on ER to her starring turn as a somber detective on Law & Order: SVU, the talented actress has built her career by portraying real-life characters and keeping out of the spotlight.
Born on January 23, 1964 in Santa Moni, California, Mariska Magdolna Hargitay was raised in Los Angeles. Hargitay was a child of divorce before she celebrated her first birthday. In 1967, her mother died tragically when her car collided with a truck outside of New Orleans. Hargitay, who was just three years old then, was asleep in the backseat of the vehicle but escaped uninjured. Days later, she moved in with her father and stepmother, Ellen Siano, a flight attendant.
In terms of off-camera activity, Hargitay’s successful pregnancy at the age of 42 (with her husband, SVU co-star Peter Hermann) made headlines as well.