Law & Order SVU Mariska Hargitay’s Shocking Discovery About Her Father

Mariska Hargitay really dug deep into the most meaningful moments of her younger years in her documentary, “My Mom Jayne.” One of those moments just happens to involve a certain little secret she has kept for so many years about who her biological father really is.

Mariska Hargitay On Her Reaction To Finding Out Mickey Hargitay Was Not Her Biological Father

In 1963, a year before Mariska’s birth, her mother Jayne Mansfield filed for divorce from Mickey, before striking up a high profile romance with Italian musician Sardelli. The actress would later go on to reconcile with Mickey, a few months before Mariska’s birth.

At age 3, the ‘Law & Order: SVU’ star lost her mother to a car accident. Mansfield was aged 34 at the time, and young Mariska was strapped in the backseat.

In her 20s, a friend of Mariska’s showed her a picture of the Italian performer, and somehow, she was able to sense that Sardelli was more than just a stranger to her. She felt it “in her bones” that he was her biological father.

“It was like the floor fell out from under me,” she recalled in ‘My Mom Jayne.’ Like my infrastructure dissolved.”

After having the shattering revelation, Mariska straightforward confronted her father Mickey about it. He, of course, denied it.

For many years later, Mariska would not raise the topic again. However, at age 30, she personally made the trip to Atlantic City to see Sardelli perform live.

When she introduced herself, she recalled that he burst into tears, revealing, “I’ve been waiting 30 years for this moment.”

But Mariska didn’t come to find a father because, according to her, Mickey more than perfectly filled the position for her and her siblings before and after her mother died.

This forced her to feel kind of assume a protective mode for Mickey, instead asserting that she was only there for answers.

“I went full Olivia Benson on him,” she told Vanity Fair about her first meeting with Sardelli. “I was like, ‘I don’t want anything. I don’t need anything from you … I have a dad.’ There was something about loyalty. I wanted to be loyal to Mickey.”

“I grew up where I was supposed to, and I do know that everyone made the best choice for me,” she said. “I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter — that is not a lie.”

Mariska Hargitay Reveals Sweet Reason Behind Her Documentary ‘My Mom Jayne’

Despite this, Mariska eventually formed a bond with Sardelli, 90, and his daughters. However, when it comes to the purpose of the documentary, Mariska revealed that she wanted it to be a “kind of a love letter to [Mickey], because there’s no one that I was closer to on this planet.”

Now that she’s got three children of her own – two adopted – she better understands Mickey’s powerful love for her. “They are my kids. Now I understand so much, and, boy, is it sweet,” she declared.

Be sure to catch up on everything happening with Mariska Hargitay right now. Come back here often for all Mariska Hargitay spoilers, news, and updates.

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