Mariska Hargitay’s 5 Siblings: All About Her Brothers and Sisters

Mariska Hargitay comes from a large family with deep roots in Hollywood.

The Law and order: SVU the actress, who played Olivia Benson for a record 25 seasons, is the child of two entertainment icons: Mickey Hargitay, the former Mr. Universe, and legendary Hollywood movie siren Jayne Mansfield. The celebrity couple, who met in a New York nightclub, married in 1958 and appeared in several films together in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including Hercules’ love, Promises! Promises! and Primitive love.

During their six-year marriage, Hargitay and Mansfield had three children: a son, Mickey Jr. in December 1958, son Zoltan in August 1960, and daughter Mariska in January 1964. However, by the time Mariska was born, Hargitay and Mansfield’s relationship had turned rocky, and they divorced eight months later.

Both Hargitay and Mansfield had children from previous relationships. Hargitay had a daughter, Tina, from his marriage to Mary Birge, while Mansfield had a daughter, Jayne Marie Mansfield, from his marriage to Paul Mansfield. After her split from Hargitay, Mansfield welcomed a son, Tony Cimber, with her third husband, film director Matt Cimber.

All about the parents of Mariska Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay

However, growing up in Hollywood wasn’t all glitz and glamor for Mariska and her siblings. Tragedy struck the family in 1967 when Mansfield died in a car accident at the age of 34. Mariska was only 3 years old at the time and was raised by her father and stepmother Ellen. Despite the devastating loss, Mariska attributes her growth to strength and love,

“The beauty is that families are created in so many different ways, and that was my reality as a child,” she told PEOPLE in 2018. “Growing up, my family was created in such an interesting and unique way, and now I have it with my own family, and I understand it that way. It was amazing.”

From their childhood to their relationships in adulthood, here’s everything there is to know about Mariska Hargitay and her five siblings.

Their mother, Jayne Mansfield, died in a car accident in 1967

Mickey Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield, Jayne Marie Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay Jr. and Zoltan Hargitay.

Mariska Hargitay Instagram

On June 29, 1967, Mansfield was killed in Biloxi, Mississippi, when the car she was traveling in crashed into the back of a truck with a trailer, according to The New York Times. Two other adults in the front seat (Sam Brody, her lawyer, and Ronnie Harrison, their driver) also died in the crash, but Mickey Jr., Zoltan, and Mariska — who were sleeping in the back seat — all survived with the minor injuries.

Mariska, who was just 3 years old at the time of the accident, has spoken at times about how the tragic loss – which she called a “scar on her soul” in 2009 – affected her childhood.

“I think I learned very young about the crisis, and I learned very young that s— happens and there are no guarantees, and we keep going,” she told Glamour in 2021

She continued: “Obviously I was in that frozen place for most of my childhood — trying to survive, actually trying to survive. My life has been a process of peeling back layers and trusting and trusting again.”

Mansfield’s death also had a profound effect on who Mariska became as an adult. The Law and order: SVU star, who called the traumas she experienced at an early age her “superpowers”. Glamourrevealed to PEOPLE in 2018 how her mother’s death shaped her outlook on life.

“The way I lived with the loss was to lean on it,” shared Mariska. “As the saying goes, the only way out is through. In my life, I certainly tried to avoid pain, loss, the feeling of things. But I’ve learned to really lean into it instead, because sooner or later you’ve got to pay the piper.”

She continued: “I’m not saying it’s easy, and it certainly wasn’t for me. There was a lot of darkness. But on the other hand, things can be so bright.”

All about the three children of Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann

Mariška, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan were raised by their father and stepmother in Los Angeles

Mickey Hargitay, Mariska Hargitay and Ellen Siano, January 16, 2005, InStyle/Warner Bros. Party. Golden Globes.

M. Caulfield/WireImage

After the death of their mother, Mariska and her two older brothers, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan, were raised by their father, Hargitay, and his third wife, Ellen, in Los Angeles. Mariska praised her stepmother because she immediately stepped into the role of “mom” for ALL star and her siblings after the Mansfield crash in 1967.

“I called her mom. She really took us over. “She never had her own biological children, and to this day we are her children,” said Mariska Good housekeeping in 2012.

“We were blessed that she really embraced and loved us so quickly,” she continued. “I was very lucky to have a mother figure in my life after such a terrible accident.”

Mariska and her brothers had an equally strong role model in their father Hargitay (who passed away in 2006 after a long illness).

“My dad taught me to listen and learn,” she told PEOPLE in 2018 about her late father. “As a child, I had my antennae to discover who had wisdom and why, and what I was supposed to learn from them, and why were they there? The way I was able to understand the cards I was dealt was by following the signs.”

Jayne Marie was the first friend’s daughter in the game to be featured Playboy

Jayne Marie Mansfield, September 12, 1979 in Oxnard, California.

Paul Harris/Getty

Jayne Marie, Mansfield’s daughter from her first marriage to Paul Mansfield, followed in her mother’s footsteps when she was a featured model for Playboy magazine in July 1976. Mansfield was Playboy Friend of the Month in February 1955 — making the pair the first mother-daughter duo to appear in the magazine.

However, after her appearance in Playboy and short acting career, Jayne Marie apparently had a change of heart and gave up her career in the public eye. Since 2008, she lived in LA and worked as a money manager, Mariska revealed in the column “Ask Stacy” at the time.

Mickey Jr. runs a plant shop in Hollywood

Mariska Hargitay and Mickey Hargitay Jr.

Mariska Hargitay Instagram

Although both his parents had careers in show business, Mickey Jr. took his talent in another direction: Mariska’s oldest brother has been running a Hollywood plant store, Mickey Hargitay Plants, since 1980.

“[My family] “I made decisions to reach for the stars and I wanted to stay grounded,” Mickey Jr. said. Los Angeles Times 2016 “I wanted to do something that felt more grounded and real.”

Mickey Jr.’s store, which sells indoor and outdoor plants, gardening supplies and landscaping services, counts several famous actors among its clientele — including George Clooney and Jim Carrey, according to Los Angeles Times. Mickey Jr., who grew up watering his family’s plants, is well known throughout LA for his extensive knowledge of plants and their care.

Mariska praised her big brother’s green thumb in a December 2023 Instagram post.

“I love this guy so much. The best big brother. Soulful. Protective. Nurturing. funny. Fun. Kind. Wise. gentle. Diligent. Fair enough,” she wrote alongside a photo of the two. “Watching someone take care of plants is a beauty.”

Zoltan works as a carpenter on Hollywood sets

Zoltan Hargitay.

Mariska Hargitay Instagram

Like his parents and sister, Zoltan works in the entertainment industry – but not in front of the cameras. Instead, Zoltan works behind the scenes as a carpenter constructing sets for Hollywood films and television series.

He is credited with working as a carpenter on several films in the 1990s, including 1994’s Heads together, Thoughts on crime and T-Force. He recently worked on the Apple TV+ series Morning show.

Zoltan appears to have acquired his carpentry skills from his late father, who first worked as a plumber and carpenter when he immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1947, according to The Independent.

Mariska was reunited with three of her siblings at her 2013 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.

Mariska Hargitay and siblings Mickey Hargitay Jr., Zoltan Hargitay and Jayne Marie Mansfield attend the Mariska Hargitay Star Ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 8, 2013.

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

When Mariska received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 2013, three of her siblings supported her on her big day: the Mickey Jr. brothers. and Zoltan and her half-sister Jayne Marie. In her speech, Mariska gave touching recognition to her family for being with her on this important occasion.

“My amazing family is here today. My mom, Ellen and my sister — happy birthday Jayne Marie!” the Law and order: SVU said the star at the ceremony, which was held on her sister’s 63rd birthday. “My big brother Mickey and my big brother Zoli and of course my dad who I know is watching us right now.”

Mariska also mentioned how her mother Jayne received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Mother and daughter stars are right next to each other.

“It’s so amazing because my brother Mickey and my sister Jayne Marie were actually here, right here, when my mother got her star, so I can’t imagine how they feel,” she said. “Probably enough with the stars.”

“I love you family, all of you,” added Mariska.

Mariska often calls out her brothers on social networks

Mickey Hargitay Jr., Mariska Hargitay and Zoltan Hargitay.

Mariska Hargitay Instagram

From National Sibling Day to their birthdays, Mariska will occasionally post about her older brothers, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan on social networks.

On Zoltan’s birthday in 2021, Mariska took to Instagram to share sweet sentiments about her big brother—comparing him to Ted Lass and calling him a “relentless optimist.”

“Happy birthday to my kind, loving and open brother with a big heart… I love you,” Mariska wrote in the caption.

Mariska wrote similar beautiful words on social media about her oldest brother Mickey Jr. when he turned 65 in December 2023. Alongside a throwback photo of their family from the 1960s, Mariska wished her brother, whom she described as “kind and gentle, generous and wise” in her Instagram caption, a happy birthday.

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Source: HIS Education