Mariska Hargitay is an American actress who has an estimated net worth of $50 million. Part of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, it is the series’ highest-grossing series to date, averaging 53 million weekly viewers including the original episodes and extensive syndication. Hargitay, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work on the series, is probably one of the main reasons behind this. She takes her work home with her. After playing sex criminal detective Olivia Benson for twelve years, she founded her own charitable foundation, The Joyful Heart Foundation, to combat childhood sexual abuse.
Hargitay is the daughter of legendary sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. From her breakthrough role as a vulnerable single mom in ER to her starring role as a sinister investigator in Law & Order: SVU, the talented actress has built her career by portraying real-life characters and staying out of the spotlight.
Born on January 23, 1964 in Santa Moni, California, Mariska Magdolna Hargitay grew up in Los Angeles. Hargitay was a child of divorce before celebrating her first birthday. In 1967, her mother was tragically killed when her car collided with a truck outside of New Orleans. Hargitay, who was just three years old at the time, slept in the back seat of the vehicle but was unharmed. Days later, she moved in with her father and stepmother, Ellen Siano, a flight attendant.
Off-camera, Hargitay’s successful pregnancy at age 42 (with her husband, SVU co-star Peter Hermann) also made headlines.
- Source of Wealth: Film, TV
- Age: 57
- Place of Birth: Santa Monica, California, USA
- Height: 5′ 7½” (1.71m)
- Weight: 120 lbs (54 kg)
- Marital status: Married (Peter Hermann)
- Full Name: Mariska Magdolna Hargitay
- Nationality: American
- Date of Birth: January 23, 1964
- Ethnicity: Hungarian, German, English
- Profession: actress
- Education: University of California Los Angeles
- Children: 3 (August Miklos Friedrich, Amaya Josephine and Andrew Nicolas Hargitay)
