It must be pretty sweet for Mariska these days; finally she’s known for her work and not her mother. Jayne Mansfield, right, was a sex-bomb actress in the 1950′s and 1960′s. She was only 34 when she died in a car crash in 1967, with her three kids in the back seat. Mariska was just three so probably has no memory of the woman who would over-shadow her early acting career.

Mariska majored in theater at UCLA but left as she left the best way to learn about acting was to act. To grab attention she entered and won the Miss Beverly Hills 1982 pageant. It worked and her first film was Ghoulies, in1985, the film which she credits with making her realise she couldn’t act. Determined to keep learning, Mariska decided to ply her trade on television and starred in the ill-fated cop show Downtown in 1986 and 1987, a few episodes of  Falcon Crest in 1988, a few in Tequila and Bonetti in 1992 and dozens of made-for-tv films in-between. This has always been one hard-working actress.

Mariska was delighted to get a bit part as a hooker in the excellent Leaving Las Vegas (1995), which garnered a Best Actor Oscar for Nicholas Cage, giving her the chance to watch the best in the business in action.

She hungered for more and continued to work on television, a year on Can’t Hurry Love in 1995, played another detective on a couple of episodes of Prince Street in 1997 and then finally got her break. The hugely popular medical drama ER was looking for someone to play working-class receptionist Cynthia. Her first, dramatic, scene was opposite Julianna Margulies and Anthony Edwards. She knocked it out of the park, so good that she got a standing ovation from the crew.

Julianne looked at me and said, “Just so you know, they don’t do this”.

Finally, after 12 years learning on the job, it seemed Mariska had learned how to act. She was so good, and her character so popular, that the bit-part was extended to a recurring role throughout the 1997 season of the show. In the meantime, her agent had handed her a script for another detective show. She didn’t want to do it which is surprising considering the failure of the cop shows in her past, and it would also mean leaving her family in LA and moving to New York.

Mariska’s family life has always been a huge part of her life. Her father and mother were divorced when Mansfield died and Mickey Hargitay was remarried, to Ellen Siano, the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. The Hungarian ex-bodybuiler immediately put his kids first and the pair raised the kids. He was a sometimes actor and they grew up in Beverly Hills so the industry was always around them, but Mickey’s poor, European childhood grounded him and, by extension, his children. In the Soviet Union, Mickey and his Hargitay family had an acrobatic act that they performed in the large opera houses throughout Hungary. This was a man who new the underside of a so-called glamorous industry. During Mariska’s life he was a successful real-estate investor and contractor. Throughout her early, patchy career, her parents had been there for her and now it seemed, just as a new venture was beginning, she would be without them. Her Dad convinced her to give it a go and come home if she hated it. The decision changed her life.

When they were down to the last four actors auditioning for the parts of Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler, Christopher Meloni said:

I watched her and thought, “she’s got it”. I didn’t know if I had so I worked hard to match her. I knew she was Olivia

From the first episode of Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit in 1999, the rating were huge and the network knew that had a hit. However, Olivia was as lonely as hell in New York. For the first year she struggled but she knew SVU was something special so she stuck with it. Her hard-working ethic stood to her – she not only fell in love with the city, but met the man she would marry on the set of SVU. Add to that the small fact that she was nominated for a Screen Guild Award in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series every year since 2004 (winning in 2006), as well as two Golden Globes nominations.

When she finally won the Golden Globe in 2006, it was a hugely emotional time for Mariska. Her father had been ill with cancer for some time and died just months before she accepted the award.

Fifty years ago my mother stood on this stage accepting this award. She was fortunate enough to have my dad with her. Fifty years later, I’m fortunate enough to have my dad with me. I love you, dad.

When she had her son in 2006, she called him August Miklós Friedrich after her dad.

One of the results of her amazing portrayal as Olivia Benson in SVU, is that victims of sexual assault often approach her in the street. It’s something she wasn’t prepared for when she started, but over the years she’s educated herself with the information these people need. There is one famous story about when she was walking in New York and noticed a pregnant woman collapse. Everyone ignored the woman but Mariska went into Olivia-mode and sorted out the situation. This contact has also lead her to start a non-profit organisation to aid the victims of rape – The Joyful Heart Foundation.

Mariska has always been a friend of the gays. She became close friends with Maria Bello when she acted on ER and the pair were often photographed looking pretty close, shall we say (right). She has always laughed off such things, commenting that she won’t deny it as there’s nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately, she’s happily married with a child so that’s that ladies.

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