Mariska Hargitay simply dropped an enormous household bombshell that’s been buried for over 30 years, one which rewrites the narrative of her well-known Hollywood upbringing.
The “Legislation & Order: SVU” star surprised followers on the Cannes Movie Competition with the premiere of her new documentary “My Mother Jayne,” a deeply private tribute to her late mom, display screen siren Jayne Mansfield.
However within the means of honoring her mother, Mariska Hargitay revealed one thing nobody noticed coming: the person who raised her, bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, will not be her organic father.
Article continues beneath commercial
Mariska Hargitay’s Surprising Paternity Reveal
The jaw-dropping reveal marks Hargitay’s function movie directorial debut, and the documentary does not maintain again.
Alongside the tragic story of her mom’s dying in a horrific automotive crash in 1967, when Mariska was simply three years outdated, comes the revelation that her actual father is former Las Vegas entertainer Nelson Sardelli.
In response to her interview with Self-importance Truthful, the reality got here out when she was 25 years outdated. She confronted Mickey, who insisted he was her father, they usually by no means spoke of it once more. However the questions lingered. She puzzled why she didn’t fairly really feel like she shared the identical Hungarian roots as her brothers Zoltan and Mickey Jr.
When she turned 30, she lastly met Sardelli in Atlantic Metropolis, the place he was performing.
Article continues beneath commercial
Mariska Confronts Actual Dad After 30 Years
Hargitay advised Self-importance Truthful that she launched herself to him as his daughter. His emotional response? “I’ve been ready 30 years for this second.” However she wasn’t prepared to leap right into a father-daughter reunion.
“I don’t need something. I don’t want something from you… I’ve a dad,” she reportedly advised him, channeling her signature SVU depth. “There was one thing about loyalty. I needed to be loyal to Mickey.”
The emotional complexity of discovering a hidden facet of her household weighed closely.
“Understanding I’m dwelling a lie my whole life,” she admitted, turned a painful fact to face. Sardelli, now in his late 80s, seems within the documentary alongside together with his two daughters, Mariska’s half-sisters.
Article continues beneath commercial
Finally, Hargitay discovered peace and got here to grasp why her mom, Jayne Mansfield, returned to Mickey Hargitay. It was to offer stability.
Article continues beneath commercial
Mariska Hargitay Breaks Down After Emotional Reunion With Secret Sisters
Earlier than the Cannes premiere, she held a personal screening in Las Vegas for her newfound siblings, and their response left her shaken.
“They only wept and wept and wept. These two girls that I really like a lot. I made them secrets and techniques!” she mentioned. “It’s so heartbreaking to me.”
Now 61, Hargitay says she lastly felt prepared to inform the reality. “I grew up the place I used to be speculated to… I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter, that isn’t a lie.” She referred to as the movie a “love letter” to the person who raised her, including, “there’s nobody that I used to be nearer to on this planet.”
Article continues beneath commercial
Mariska Says Remedy Triggered ‘Narcoleptic’ Response Whereas Unpacking Her Deepest Household Secret
She additionally opened up about her remedy periods, the place she would usually drift off to sleep each time conversations veered too near painful recollections… “like a narcoleptic!” she joked.
She initially chalked it as much as exhaustion from the grueling hours of filming “Legislation & Order: SVU,” all whereas balancing life as a mom of three. However her therapist had one other idea. The sudden sleepiness was seemingly a deeply ingrained protection mechanism, defending her from confronting unresolved trauma.
To interrupt by way of it, she’d must face the disgrace tied to her intercourse image mom and at last confront the long-hidden fact about her organic father.
Mariska Hargitay Honors Late Mother Jayne Mansfield
“My Mother Jayne” additionally displays on her mom’s iconic standing as a Golden Globe-winning actress and Nineteen Fifties intercourse image, whose life ended tragically in a crash on June 29, 1967.
Jayne, her accomplice Sam Brody, and their driver had been killed immediately when their automotive slammed right into a tractor-trailer in Biloxi, Mississippi. Miraculously, Mariska and her two brothers, asleep within the backseat, survived with minor accidents.
Jayne left behind 5 kids. Jayne Marie (from her first marriage to Paul Mansfield), Miklos, Zoltan, and Mariska (with Mickey Hargitay), and Antonio (with third husband Matt Cimber).
With “My Mother Jayne,” Hargitay not solely honors a Hollywood legend however lastly lifts the curtain on the household secret she’s held shut for many years.
