Documentary Bombshell
Mariska Hargitay is sharing a long-hidden family secret in the documentary My Mom Jayne, which premiered May 17 at the Cannes Film Festival. In it, Hargitay, 61, reveals that her biological father was not Mickey Hargitay, the man who raised her, but rather a former Las Vegas entertainer named Nelson Sardelli, with whom her mother, Jayne Mansfield, was briefly involved. As the Law & Order: SVU star explains in the documentary—which marks her feature film directorial debut—she first learned of Sardelli when she was 25 after being shown a photo of him. Their physical resemblance struck her. Mariska then confronted Mickey, but after he insisted he was her father, the two never spoke of it again.
The actress opened up further in an interview with Vanity Fair, discussing the internal conflict she faced after meeting Sardelli when she was 30 years old. “I was like, ‘I don’t want anything. I don’t need anything from you… I have a dad,’ ” she recalls of the encounter. She also told Vanity Fair that she grappled with “living a lie my entire life.” Now, with My Mom Jayne, Hargitay is putting everything out in the open, and Sardelli, 90, is even featured in the film. “I grew up where I was supposed to, and I do know that everyone made the best choice for me,” Hargitay said. “I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter. That is not a lie.”
—ALEX ROSS WITH REPORTING BY CARITA RIZZO