Latest news with #MickeyHargitay
Fox News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Mariska Hargitay reveals shocking family secret about her biological father
Mariska Hargitay has been keeping a family secret for more than 30 years. At the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, the "Law & Order: SVU" star revealed at the premiere of her documentary, "My Mom Jayne," that her biological father is former Las Vegas entertainer Nelson Sardelli. She was raised by late actor and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. The actress admitted to Vanity Fair that she struggled with the idea of "knowing I'm living a lie my entire life." But the answer eventually became clear to her. "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. This documentary is kind of a love letter to him, because there's no one that I was closer to on this planet." "He was my everything, my idol," shared the 61-year-old about the patriarch, who died in 2006 at age 80. "He loved me so much, and I knew it. I also knew something else; I just didn't know what I knew." Growing up, Hargitay always felt she was different from her siblings, the outlet shared. It wouldn't be until her 20s that she learned why. In 1963, Hargitay's mother, Jayne Mansfield, filed for divorce from Mickey. She then embarked on a high-profile romance with Sardelli. The actress went on to reconcile with Mickey several months before Hargitay's birth in 1964. When Hargitay was in her 20s, someone showed her a photo of the Italian entertainer. According to the outlet, Hargitay "immediately knew in her bones" that Sardelli was her biological father. "It was like the floor fell out from under me," she said in "My Mom Jayne." Mansfield died in 1967 from injuries she sustained in a car crash. She was 34. Hargitay was 3 years old and asleep in the back seat of the car when it rammed into a truck. After suspecting that Sardelli was her biological father, she confronted Mickey. He denied it. According to the outlet, the encounter was "so shattering" that she never mentioned Sardelli to Mickey again. At age 30, Hargitay went to see Sardelli perform in Atlantic City. When she introduced herself, he burst into tears, telling her, "I've been waiting 30 years for this moment." Hargitay suddenly became fiercely protective of her father, the man who raised her and her siblings after her mother's death. "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." Hargitay eventually forged a bond with Sardelli, 90, and his daughters. But when it came time to tell her story, she said "many people" were hesitant about the film coming out. But in time, both families gave Hargitay their blessing. The documentary features interviews with Hargitay's siblings: Jayne Marie, Zoltan and Mickey Jr. The Sardelli sisters "wept and wept" when they saw a private screening of the documentary in Las Vegas, the outlet revealed. "These two women that I love so much – I made them secrets!" said Hargitay. "It's so heartbreaking to me. … I'm not good with lies. So, I also made this movie to unburden all of us." The film also helped Hargitay address the loss of her mother. "I don't remember the accident," she said. "I don't even remember being told that my mom had died. I looked at photos, and I don't really remember anything until I was 5." Mansfield, born Vera Jayne Palmer, was an aspiring actress who spoke several languages and played violin and piano. A casting director suggested she bleach her hair, wear tighter dresses and adopt a Marilyn Monroe-inspired voice. The "dumb blonde" persona stuck and Mansfield skyrocketed to fame in Hollywood. But like Monroe, Mansfield struggled to be taken seriously as an actress. WATCH: QUEEN ELIZABETH 'FELT SORRY' FOR MARILYN MONROE: AUTHOR "When I would hear that fake voice, it used to just flip me out," Hargitay recalled. "'Why is she talking like that? That's not real.' [But] my dad would always say, 'She wasn't like that at all. She was like you. She was funny and irreverent and fearless and real.'" "My Mom Jayne" premiered on May 17 at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It will air June 27 on HBO and HBO Max.
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Mariska Hargitay reveals shocking secret she's hidden for 30 years
Mariska Hargitay's new documentary doesn't just explore the life of her famous mum, actor Jayne Mansfield. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, also reveals the real identity of her biological father. For the first time, the Law & Order: SVU actor has revealed that her father is not actually well-known bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. Thirty-six years ago, she found out her biological dad is a retired Las Vegas showman named Nelson Sardelli, it is revealed in the doco, My Mom Jayne. 'It was like the floor fell out from underneath me,' she said of learning the truth, stating that she was 'living a lie' for decades. 'Like my infrastructure dissolved.' Mansfield had a brief affair with Sardelli, 90, before she reconciled with Mickey. She and Mickey divorced in 1964. Jayne also was mum to daughter Jayne Marie with first husband Paul Mansfield, sons Miklós 'Mickey' and Zoltán with Mickey and son Antonio 'Tony' with third husband, Italian movie director Matt Cimber. Mariska recalled seeing a picture of Sardelli in her 20s and demanding the truth. Mickey initially insisted that he was her biological father. He later died at age 80 in 2006. Mariska would go on to meet Sardelli for the first time when he performed in Atlantic City, N.J. She was 30 years old at the time. 'I've been waiting 30 years for this moment,' the actor recalled him saying during an interview with Vanity emotional, Hargitay had a difficult time with their exchange and began to act like her iconic NBC character. '[I went] full Olivia Benson on him,' she told the outlet. 'I was like, 'I don't want anything, I don't need anything from you. … I have a dad, ' ' she recalled telling him. 'There was something about loyalty. I wanted to be loyal to Mickey.' Sardelli and his other two daughters — Mariska's half sisters — participated in the documentary, in addition to Mariska's other siblings Jayne Marie and Tony. At 61, the actor felt that there was no need to keep the identity of her biological father a secret from the public any longer. '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 further opened up about the loss of her mum in her doc, which she directed. On June 29, 1967, Mansfield died instantly in a car crash when the car she was riding in struck the rear of a trailer truck on US Route 90 east in New Orleans, Louisiana. Driver Ronald B. Harrison and Mansfield's companion, Samuel S. Brody, were also killed. Mariska, who was just 3 years old at the time, and her siblings Mickey Jr., 8, and Zoltan, 6, all survived the crash. Mansfield appeared in more than two dozen films during her career, including 1956's The Girl Can't Help It and 1957's Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? 'My mother was this amazing, beautiful, glamorous sex symbol — but people didn't know that she played the violin and had a 160 IQ and had five kids and loved dogs,' Mariska toldPeople in 2018. 'She was just so ahead of her time. She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life, and I think I share that with her.' Mariska, for her part, has been married to fellow actor and Younger alum Peter Hermann since 2004. The couple are parents of three children — August Miklos Friedrich, born 2006, Amaya Josephine Hermann, born 2011, and Andrew Nicolas Hermann, born 2011. My Mom Jayne will be released on HBO on June 27.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mariska Hargitay Reveals Identity of Her Biological Father, Says She Was 'Living a Lie My Entire Life'
Mariska Hargitay has revealed a long-held family secret: the truth about her biological father. The actress, whose mother was Jayne Mansfield, had believed for years that her father was Mickey Hargitay, the Hungarian bodybuilding champion who became an actor. He married Mansfield in 1956. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Law & Order' and 'SVU' Renewed at NBC 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Teases a Stabler-Benson Reunion Mariska Hargitay Directing HBO Documentary About Her Mother, Jayne Mansfield When Mariska was only 3, she and her mother were involved in a tragic car accident that killed Mansfield instantly. Mickey raised their three children after Mansfield died. 'He was my everything, my idol. He loved me so much, and I knew it,' she told Vanity Fair. 'I also knew something else — I just didn't know what I knew.' In fact, she didn't know the truth until she was in her 20s. During a brief time in 1963-64, Mansfield filed for divorce from Mickey and began dating Italian entertainer Nelson Sardelli. However, Mickey and Mansfield reconciled months before Mariska's birth. Mariska had always believed something felt different between her and her siblings (Jayne Marie, Zoltan and Mickey Jr.), and when she was in her 20s, she saw a photo of Sardelli that confirmed her feelings. She says she knew right away that he was her biological father. When she asked Mickey, he denied it, and they never spoke of it again. When she was 30, Mariska traveled to Atlantic City to see Sardelli perform. After she introduced herself, she said, he became emotional and told her, 'I've been waiting 30 years for this moment.' 'I went full Olivia Benson on him,' she said of her reaction. '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.' (Mickey died in 2006.) She added that she struggled with 'knowing I'm living a lie my entire life.' Mariska ultimately became close with Sardelli and his daughters. She also realized that her mom went back to Mickey because she felt that being with him would be better for her daughter. '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.' The Law & Order: SVU star also opens up about this revelation in her new documentary My Mom Jayne, which premiered Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival and debuts June 27 on HBO/HBO Max. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise 'Yellowstone' and the Sprawling Dutton Family Tree, Explained
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mariska Hargitay says she's been 'living a lie,' reveals true identity of her biological father in new doc
Mariska Hargitay reveals a family secret that she's been holding onto for three decades in a new documentary about her bombshell mom, Jayne Mansfield. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star, 61, was in her 20s when she found out her biological father is Italian singer and comedian Nelson Sardelli, not bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay, as she believed for much of her life. In new documentary My Mom Jayne, Mariska explores the tragic aftermath of the June 1967 car crash that killed Mansfield, a Hollywood movie star and sex symbol of the ʼ50s and ʼ60s, at just 37 years old. After her mother's death when Hargitay was 3, the actress was raised by Mickey along with her two siblings, Mickey Jr. and Zoltán. Mariska was later devastated to learn, however, that Hargitay was not her birth father, as she discusses in a new interview with Vanity Fair. "He was my everything, my idol. He loved me so much, and I knew it,' she said of Mickey. "I also knew something else — I just didn't know what I knew." Hargitay said she first confronted the truth in her 20s, when she was shown a photo of Sardelli. The SVU actress instantly knew that he was her father. 'It was like the floor fell out from underneath me,' she recalls in the documentary. "Like my infrastructure dissolved." Mariska claims she confronted her dad, Mickey, about the revelation, but he denied it. She never brought it up to him again (Mickey died in 2006), but in 2004, when she was 30, she went to see Sardelli perform in Atlantic City and introduced herself. According to Hargitay, the singer burst into tears and told her, "I've been waiting 30 years for this moment." But the actress was chilly, channeling her SVU character, she told Vanity Fair. "I went full Olivia Benson on him," she said. "I was like, 'I don't want anything, I don't need anything from you. I have a dad.'" Explaining that she felt the need to be "loyal to Mickey," Hargitay detailed the struggle of coming to terms with "living a lie my entire life," admitting that she pondered about her place in either family. She eventually forged a bond with Sardelli and his daughters but also came to accept that "I grew up where I was supposed to.""I'm Mickey Hargitay's daughter — that is not a lie," she added, tearfully. "This documentary is kind of a love letter to him, because there's no one that I was closer to on this planet." The actress, who has two adopted children with husband Peter Hermann, said the whole ordeal has helped her in her own journey as a parent. "They are my kids," she said. "Now I understand so much, and, boy, is it sweet." My Mom Jayne marks Hargitay's debut as a documentary director. The emotional film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday and is set to have its TV debut June 27 on HBO. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nelson Sardelli Was Mariska Hargitay's Real Dad, She Reveals
Actress Mariska Hargitay released a family secret bombshell in a new interview. For years, it was publicly believed that Hargitay's father was Mickey Hargitay, described by Vanity Fair as "a Hungarian bodybuilding champion turned actor who married Mansfield in 1956." Her mother, of course, was the Hollywood bombshell Jayne Mansfield. According to Vanity Fair, Mansfield had a "well-publicized romance with an Italian entertainer named Nelson Sardelli," but then got back together with Mickey Hargitay before Mariska Hargitay was born. When she saw a photo of Sardelli in her 20s, Hargitay "immediately knew in her bones that he was her biological father," Vanity Fair reported. 'It was like the floor fell out from underneath me,' she said, according to Vanity Fair. 'Like my infrastructure dissolved.' Mickey Hargitay denied it at first, Vanity Fair reported. At age 30, Mariska met Sardelli after watching him perform, thinking, 'I've been waiting 30 years for this moment.' She says she told him, "I don't want anything, I don't need anything from you.… I have a dad." However, she "gradually forged a bond with Sardelli and his daughters," Vanity Fair reported. According to Norm Vegas, Sardelli has been in the U.S. since 1965, "arriving almost a decade after immigrating from Brazil. His Italian parents moved there in the early 1920s, looking for a better life." He forged a career acting, doing stand-up comedy, and singing, the blog says. 'I came to the United States in 1956, to Pontiac, Michigan, because in Brazil I worked for General Motors, but they were laying off people all over Michigan,' he said to the blog. Sardelli is still alive and participated in the documentary, People reported. Hargitay came to realize that being raised by Mickey was best for her, and the documentary reflects this, Vanity Fair reported. 'I grew up where I was supposed to, and I do know that everyone made the best choice for me,' she told Vanity Fair. 'I'm Mickey Hargitay's daughter—that is not a lie. This documentary is kind of a love letter to him, because there's no one that I was closer to on this planet." Mariska Hargitay also opened up about the crash that killed her mom, Jayne Mansfield, while Hargitay was in the car. 'I don't remember the accident. I don't even remember being told that my mother had died,' Hargitay told Vanity Fair. The magazine explained that Hargitay harbored a "dark secret about her paternity that she'd been guarding for decades." She is now directing an upcoming documentary about her mom called My Mom Jayne. Hargitay remained close to Mickey Hargitay. 'He was my everything, my idol. He loved me so much, and I knew it,' she told Vanity Fair. 'I also knew something else—I just didn't know what I knew.'
