Mariska Hargitay

Also known as Mariska Magdolna Hargitay, Mariska Magdalena Hargitay

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay is an American actress, philanthropist, producer, and director. Hargitay has played Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999; Benson is the longest-running character of all time in an American primetime drama. Hargitay has won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Benson.

OverviewAI-generated

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay is an American television and film actor and director. Born in 1964, she is the daughter of Jayne Mansfield and sister of Jayne Marie Mansfield. She is married to Peter Hermann and has three children. A Catholic, she speaks English, Hungarian, French, and Spanish. Her career began in 1984, and she was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles, the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and The Groundlings.

Hargitay has received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has also been nominated for Satellite, Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards in similar categories. Politically aligned with the Democratic Party, she has held positions as president and founder.

Synthesized by Vinony from 23 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Los Angeles, California, USA

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, producer, director and activist, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe. The daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield and…

Known for

My Mom Jayne — Self2025
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors — Self2025
Good Hang with Amy Poehler — Self - Guest2025
Winona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called — Actress on the Stage (archive footage) (uncredited)2022
Gutsy — Self2022
BLKBX: wht r u hding? — Dr. Hart2021
Law & Order: Organized Crime — Olivia Benson2021
30 Rock: A One-Time Special — Mariska Hargitay2020
The Paley Center Salutes Law & Order: SVU — Self2020
The Drew Barrymore Show — Self2020

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Key facts

Born: Mariska Magdolna Hargitay , ( 1964-01-23 ) January 23, 1964 (age 62) , Santa Monica, California , U.S.
Occupations: Actress philanthropist producer director
Years active: 1984–present
Spouse: Peter Hermann ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. August 28, 2004</span>"}]]}'>2004 )
Parents: Jayne Mansfield Mickey Hargitay (legal) Nelson Sardelli (biological)
Relatives: Jayne Marie Mansfield , (half-sister)
Awards: Full list

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Magdolna
Named after: Mary Magdalene
Gender: female
Citizenship: United States
Spouse: Peter Hermann
Father: Mickey Hargitay
Mother: Jayne Mansfield
Occupation: film director
Position held: founder
Languages spoken: French
Native language: American English
Religion: Catholicism
Award: star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hair colour: brown hair
Image: Mariska Hargitay Woodstock Film Festival.jpg
Number of children: 3

Show 10 more facts

Commons category: Mariska Hargitay
date of birth: 1964-01-23
nominated for: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
birth name: Mariska Magdolna Hargitay
political alignment: Democratic Party (United States)
Commons Creator page: Mariska Hargitay
start of work period: 1984-00-00
social media followers: 1015489
writing language: American English
stepparent: Matt Cimber

Sources (9)

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Encyclopedic overview

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (/məˈrɪʃkə ˈhɑːrɡɪteɪ/; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, philanthropist, producer, and director. Hargitay is known for playing Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, the longest-running character of all time in an American primetime drama. Her accolades include an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Hargitay was born in Santa Monica, California and is a daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield. She attended Marymount High School in Los Angeles and enrolled in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, leaving before completing her degree to pursue acting. Her credits outside of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit include the series Falcon Crest and In the Heat of the Night (both 1988), Tequila and Bonetti (1992), Can't Hurry Love (1995–1996), and ER (1997–1998). In 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mariska Hargitay” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.