Mariska Hargitay confirms biological father's identity after decades of speculation

Mariska Hargitay has revealed that the man she believed to be her father for much of her life was not her biological parent. In a deeply personal interview, the Law & Order: SVU star shared that she uncovered the truth about her paternity in her thirties, decades after the death of her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield.

In a recent feature with Vanity Fair (May 17), Hargitay, 61, recounted meeting her biological father for the first time after seeing him perform in Atlantic City. “I went full Olivia Benson on him,” she said, referencing her long-running role. “I was like, ‘I don’t want anything, I don’t need anything from you... I have a dad.’” She recalled the man bursting into tears, telling her, “I’ve been waiting 30 years for this moment.”

Hargitay was raised by actor and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, who was married to Mansfield until their final divorce in 1964, the year Mariska was born. While the couple briefly reconciled before her birth, Mansfield had also been romantically involved with Brazilian-born Italian singer Nelson Sardelli during that time. Hargitay later confirmed that Sardelli is her biological father.

Though rumors had circulated for years—mentioned even in Raymond Strait’s 1992 biography Here They Are Jayne Mansfield—Hargitay said she first began to suspect the truth in her twenties after seeing a photograph of Sardelli. “It was like the floor fell out from underneath me,” she shares in the upcoming documentary My Mom Jayne.

Despite the emotional discovery and initial denial from Mickey, she later bonded with Sardelli and his daughters. “I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter—that is not a lie,” she said. “I grew up where I was supposed to.”