Latest news with #NelsonSardelli
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mariska Hargitay reveals biological dad apologized while spending Father's Day together
"He said, 'Thank you for forgiving me.' And I said, 'Thank you for making the choice that you made.'"Key points Mariska Hargitay revealed that she spent Father's Day with her biological father, Nelson Sardelli. The actress, who was raised by her mother's husband, said that Sardelli apologized to her during their time together. Hargitay announced her father's true identity earlier this year, ahead of her documentary My Mom Hargitay is discussing her relationship with her biological father The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star reflected on her complicated family dynamic during a Q&A following a screening of her documentary, My Mom Jayne, which revealed that her biological dad is not Mickey Hargitay but instead Nelson Sardelli, the ex-lover of her mother, Jayne Mansfield. During her appearance at HamptonsFilm's SummerDocs series in East Hampton, N.Y., on Thursday, Hargitay revealed that she spent Father's Day with Sardelli this year. "It was so magical," she said (via PEOPLE). "He apologized and he said, 'Thank you for forgiving me.' And I said, 'Thank you for making the choice that you made.'" She continued, "So it's like everyone was right in the end, but I grew up not knowing that." Hargitay knew her true parenthood with certainty by the time she was 30, but did not discuss the matter publicly out of respect for Mickey Hargitay, who raised her. She eventually decided to share the truth in her documentary, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May. "It's a matter of sitting with it for so long and acquiring some wisdom and loosening my grip on thinking that it had to be this secret," Hargitay told Entertainment Weekly. "I realized that the truth is ultimately what sets us free, and I had kept my goal to be loyal to my father long enough." Hargitay said that making the documentary offered new insights into the nuances and complex emotions of her family history. "It became this living, breathing story, and I wanted to understand each person and the choices that they made because I didn't have the whole picture," she explained. "When I learned the whole story from more of a bird's eye view, I said, 'It's such a beautiful family story.'" The actress also told EW that she was "so scared and so angry" that her father's true identity would become public over a decade ago. "I was so fearful to have to confront it before I was ready to," she said. "Thank God it never went anywhere. It's been a real gift to me to be able to tell it in my time when I was ready."At the Q&A, Hargitay further reflected on her decision to discuss her true parentage in the doc. "So many people carry things that they don't need to," she said. "I think the only way out is through." The process of making the film offered Hargitay new perspectives on her parents. "Once I understood why, there was magic on the other side, and there was love on the other side," she said. "I spent my life feeling unworthy, not wanted, not claimed, not good enough, abandoned. And then I realized, 'Oh, no, sweetie, you were chosen six ways from Sunday.'" My Mom Jayne is now streaming on HBO Max. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Mariska Hargitay shares how she made peace with biological dad Nelson Sardelli after paternity bombshell
Mariska Hargitay revealed she recently had a sweet conversation with her biological father Nelson Sardelli. In her acclaimed documentary My Mom Jayne, the 61-year-old actress revealed the decades-old family secret that the man who raised her, Mickey Hargitay, was not her real dad. During a documentary screening at HamptonsFilm's SummerDocs on Thursday, she hosted a Q&A session in which she detailed a special Father's Day exchange she had with Sardelli, 90. She described the experience as 'magical,' telling the audience, 'He apologized and he said, "Thank you for forgiving me." And I said, "Thank you for making the choice that you made."' Mariska spoke candidly about coming to terms with her family's secret about who her biological father is. According to an account from Just Jared, she reflected, 'I spent my life feeling unworthy, not wanted, not claimed, not good enough, abandoned. 'And then I realized, "Oh, no, sweetie, you were chosen six ways from Sunday."' In the riveting documentary, Sardelli explained that he believed leaving Mariska to be raised by Hungarian bodybuilder Mickey was in her best interest. As an adult, Mariska has made peace with her family dynamic. Her siblings include sisters Tina Hargitay, 76, Jayne Marie Mansfield, 74, Mickey Hargitay Jr., 66, Zoltan Hargitay, 64, and Tony Cimber, 59. After his final split from Mansfield, Hargitay married Ellen Siano in 1967. 'Now I feel like I have two mothers, I have two fathers,' Mariska said at the screening. 'I think the reason I made this movie now is because I was ready to make it now,' the Law & Order: SVU star told Stephen Colbert of her decision to produce the documentary 58 years after her mom's tragic death. Appearing on the now-cancelled late night show in June, she said, 'In a way I feel like I've been preparing my entire life to make it.' In June Hargitay paid tribute to her late mother, who died in a car accident in 1967, by wearing a similar look worn by the movie star at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958. In her acclaimed documentary My Mom Jayne, the 61-year-old actress revealed the decades-old family secret that the man who raised her, Mickey Hargitay, was not her real dad She went on to say that she discovered boxes of fan letters pertaining to her mom during the covid-19 pandemic. 'I had the time to sit with each letter and people had sent me things that were truly a gift,' Hargitay said of finding the trove of personal stories and playbills. 'So, I said, "I think I wanna dig in here,"' she added about feeling inspired to create the film. Mariska had previously spoken about her mom during her own appearance at the Cannes Film Festival this year, telling Deadline: 'The photos of her, in Cannes in particular, were always so meaningful to me because of how free and happy and in love she was with my father.' She said the striking black and white images 'seared this emotional place' in her mind.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mariska Hargitay reveals biological dad apologized while spending Father's Day together
Key points Mariska Hargitay revealed that she spent Father's Day with her biological father, Nelson Sardelli. The actress, who was raised by her mother's husband, said that Sardelli apologized to her during their time together. Hargitay announced her father's true identity earlier this year, ahead of her documentary My Mom Hargitay is discussing her relationship with her biological father The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star reflected on her complicated family dynamic during a Q&A following a screening of her documentary, My Mom Jayne, which revealed that her biological dad is not Mickey Hargitay but instead Nelson Sardelli, the ex-lover of her mother, Jayne Mansfield. During her appearance at HamptonsFilm's SummerDocs series in East Hampton, N.Y., on Thursday, Hargitay revealed that she spent Father's Day with Sardelli this year. "It was so magical," she said (via PEOPLE). "He apologized and he said, 'Thank you for forgiving me.' And I said, 'Thank you for making the choice that you made.'" She continued, "So it's like everyone was right in the end, but I grew up not knowing that." Hargitay knew her true parenthood with certainty by the time she was 30, but did not discuss the matter publicly out of respect for Mickey Hargitay, who raised her. She eventually decided to share the truth in her documentary, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May. "It's a matter of sitting with it for so long and acquiring some wisdom and loosening my grip on thinking that it had to be this secret," Hargitay told Entertainment Weekly. "I realized that the truth is ultimately what sets us free, and I had kept my goal to be loyal to my father long enough." Hargitay said that making the documentary offered new insights into the nuances and complex emotions of her family history. "It became this living, breathing story, and I wanted to understand each person and the choices that they made because I didn't have the whole picture," she explained. "When I learned the whole story from more of a bird's eye view, I said, 'It's such a beautiful family story.'" The actress also told EW that she was "so scared and so angry" that her father's true identity would become public over a decade ago. "I was so fearful to have to confront it before I was ready to," she said. "Thank God it never went anywhere. It's been a real gift to me to be able to tell it in my time when I was ready."At the Q&A, Hargitay further reflected on her decision to discuss her true parentage in the doc. "So many people carry things that they don't need to," she said. "I think the only way out is through." The process of making the film offered Hargitay new perspectives on her parents. "Once I understood why, there was magic on the other side, and there was love on the other side," she said. "I spent my life feeling unworthy, not wanted, not claimed, not good enough, abandoned. And then I realized, 'Oh, no, sweetie, you were chosen six ways from Sunday.'" My Mom Jayne is now streaming on HBO Max. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mariska Hargitay Says It's A ‘Miracle' That Biological Father's Identity Was Kept A Secret
Mariska Hargitay continues to feel relief at being able to confront a long-held family secret on her own terms. Hargitay, 61, is making her feature directorial debut with 'My Mom Jayne,' a documentary about her late mother, screen legend Jayne Mansfield, that premieres Friday on HBO. In the film, she reveals musician Nelson Sardelli to be her biological father, though she was raised by bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, whom she viewed as her dad. The 'Law & Order: SVU' actor last month shared how she made the discovery, telling Vanity Fair she began coming to terms with 'knowing' she'd been 'living a lie my entire life' around the time she was 30. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in a new interview this week, she said she feared the news would somehow become public fodder prior to the release of 'My Mom Jayne.' 'I was so fearful to have to confront it before I was ready to,' she told the outlet. 'Thank God it never went anywhere. It's been a real gift to me to be able to tell it in my time when I was ready.' Mansfield, whose popularity rivaled Marilyn Monroe during her lifetime, was married to Mickey Hargitay from 1958 to 1964. She and Sardelli had a brief affair in the early 1960s. In 'My Mom Jayne,' Hargitay says she began suspecting Mickey Hargitay wasn't her father in her 20s. Upon learning with certainty that Sardelli was her father, however, she decided to keep the truth a secret out of loyalty to Mickey Hargitay, who raised her as his own after Mansfield's death in 1967 and referred to her as his daughter until his own death in 2006. The truth about Hargitay's parentage was first publicly revealed in 'Here They Are, Jayne Mansfield,' a 1992 biography written by Mansfield's former press agent, Raymond Strait. Remarkably, the revelation stayed largely under wraps at the time of the book's publication. 'The fact is that the story was out there in a lot of places,' Hargitay told EW. 'And so, the fact that it never came out is nothing short of a miracle, truly.' Describing 'My Mom Jayne' as a 'healing experience' for her and her siblings, Hargitay said she's learned to embrace her unusual family structure. 'Nothing could change my love, respect, admiration and gratitude for [Mickey Hargitay],' she said. 'And as I got to know Nelson, as he explained to me what happened, it just became a much more three-dimensional story. I realized that everyone's doing the best they can. It wasn't so black and white anymore to me.' Liam Payne's Sister Shares Heartbreaking Reaction To Seeing His Final TV Appearance Charlie Sheen's Daughter Says She's Suffered Mystery Illness For Nearly 2 Years Due To Breast Implants Bruce Willis' Daughter Speaks Out After Criticism For Sharing 'Vulnerable' Photos Of Her Dad
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mariska Hargitay on the Stunning Moment She Learned About Biological Dad: 'Jolt Went Through My Body'
Mariska Hargitay was 25 years old when she learned the stunning truth about her biological father from a man she had never met. The "Law & Order: SVU" star spoke with Alex Cooper on the June 25 episode of Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast about how she found out her biological father is Italian singer Nelson Sardelli, not Hungarian bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay. Hargitay had journeyed to the home of Sabin Gray, a diehard fan of her late mother, actor and 1950s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, to see his collection of Mansfield memorabilia. Hargitay, whose HBO documentary, "My Mom Jayne," comes out on June 27, ended the visit with a shocking realization. "It was a little overwhelming for me because there were life-size cutouts, and it was truly like a museum or a shrine to her," Hargitay said. "That was hard for me at that age to sort of understand. ... I'm seeing all this stuff that I had never seen and kind of grew up away from all of that." "He's showing me all these photos. He's showing me whatever it is, dresses that she had that he'd collected, earrings that she wore, things from movies from the movie set, props or whatever, and then he says to me, 'Do you want to see a picture of Nelson?'" she recalled. The question immediately unnerved Hargitay, who was 3 years old when her mother died in a car accident in 1967. "I just looked at him, and this jolt went through my body, and I said, 'Who's Nelson?'" she said. "And then I knew in one second." Hargitay remembered the blood draining out of Gray's face after asking her about Sardelli. "He sort of panicked and turned white, and he said, 'Oh, it's probably not true, it's probably not true,' and that's when I knew," Hargitay said. "And I think that (Gray) couldn't believe that I didn't know. I was 25, how could I not know?" Hargitay was then shown a picture of Sardelli. "On a cellular level, it was just like DNA talking to DNA," she said. "I knew it was true, and I just really thought my life was over." Hargitay was distraught as she departed Gray's home. "I remember leaving and driving to my brother's house, and I thought I was going to crash my car because I was so not present," she said. "I was totally dissociated and out of my body, and I got to my brother's house. I didn't even know how I got there, but I knew that I shouldn't be driving. It was crazy." Hargitay's world was upended. She was very close with Mickey Hargitay, who had raised her after Mansfield was killed in an accident in which Mariska and her two brothers, Zoltan and Mickey Jr., were also in the car. "The one thing I did have, the one thing that I was rooted in, the one thing that was my constant, was no longer mine," she said about realizing Mickey Hargitay was not her biological father. "And my identity was just smashed. It was like it broke in two." She struggled to deal with a "thousand pellets of hard truth." "(I'm) going, 'My brothers aren't my brothers, I'm not Hungarian, I'm not related to all my family that I grew up with in Hungary,'" she said. It started to make sense to her why during her childhood "everyone asked me if I was Italian." Once she drove to the home of one of her brothers, she asked him if he knew about Sardelli being her biological father. "I'm very, very, very, very close with my brother, and he didn't (know), so then that was also confusing," she said. "And then I went up to my dad's house, and I was hysterically crying and in a state." She said Mickey Hargitay was in the process of physically building her a home when she asked him about Sardelli. "So I drive up to the house that he is building me and confront him, and he was like, 'What? What are you talking about? Are you crazy? That's so not true,'" she said. "He kept saying, 'You look like my father, you look exactly like my father, you're a Hargitay to the end,'" she continued. "The irony is that I'm more like my dad than anyone in our whole family. Like, I am mini-Mickey, right? And so it was just a very extraordinarily painful moment. I say that this is the moment that I became an adult, and it's so visceral for me because I was in so much pain, I was so overwhelmed." Despite finding out the stunning truth about her bloodline, she did not press Mickey Hargitay on the issue. "I was so overwhelmed and I was in the 'me, me, me, me, oh, my gosh, my life is over,' and then looking at this man who's been nothing but loving to me and nothing but this amazing father to me, and I saw his pain," she said. "And I said, 'It doesn't matter what I feel. I love him. We're done here.' "And so I said, 'OK, thank you for telling me,' and I pretended that I believed him, and we never spoke of it again," she continued. "And then he used to say, even before he died, 'Remember when you thought that crazy thing?' And I go, 'I know, wasn't that nuts?'" Hargitay told Cooper she'll 'never know' the extent of Mickey's knowledge on the matter. 'I think that he integrated it in, 'This is my new reality,'' she said. 'He made a choice and that was his new truth. And whether it's true or not emotionally, it was his truth.' While she was managing her emotions with Mickey, Hargitay also was reeling at the thought that Sardelli had not acknowledged her as his daughter. "That was where the injury was," she said, "is, why wasn't I claimed? He must have known. He didn't care, he didn't love me, I wasn't worth it, I was nothing to him. He knew, he had to know that I was his daughter, and I wasn't worth it. I wasn't valuable enough, and that's what I lived with, is that I wasn't enough." "So having that feeling of, my mother left me and then again my father abandoned me was so hard to integrate or make sense out of," she added. At 61 years old, Hargitay said she now has the benefit of being able to view the situation with more wisdom. "I'm so grateful for this life to grow into the miracle of my story, and having this comprehensive understanding and getting the full perspective and now seeing that I had such a limited, teeny, teeny, teeny sliver of the truth (at the time)," she said. This article was originally published on
