Mariska Hargitay reveals a household secret that she’s been holding onto for 3 many years in a brand new documentary about her bombshell mother, Jayne Mansfield.

The Legislation & Order: Particular Victims Unit star, 61, was in her 20s when she came upon her biological father is Italian singer and comic Nelson Sardelli, not bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay, as she believed for a lot of her life. 

In new documentary My Mother Jayne, Mariska explores the tragic aftermath of the June 1967 automotive crash that killed Mansfield, a Hollywood film star and intercourse image of the ʼ50s and ʼ60s, at simply 37 years previous. After her mom’s dying when Hargitay was 3, the actress was raised by Mickey together with her two siblings, Mickey Jr. and Zoltán. 

Mariska was later devastated to study, nevertheless, that Hargitay was not her delivery father, as she discusses in a brand new interview with Vanity Fair.

“He was my the whole lot, my idol. He cherished me a lot, and I knew it,” she stated of Mickey. “I additionally knew one thing else — I simply didn’t know what I knew.”

Hargitay stated she first confronted the reality in her 20s, when she was proven a photograph of Sardelli. The SVU actress immediately knew that he was her father.

“It was like the ground fell out from beneath me,” she recollects within the documentary. “Like my infrastructure dissolved.”

Mariska claims she confronted her dad, Mickey, concerning the revelation, however he denied it. She by no means introduced it as much as him once more (Mickey died in 2006), however in 2004, when she was 30, she went to see Sardelli carry out in Atlantic Metropolis and launched herself. 

In line with Hargitay, the singer burst into tears and advised her, “I’ve been ready 30 years for this second.”

However the actress was chilly, channeling her SVU character, she advised Vainness Truthful.

“I went full Olivia Benson on him,” she stated. “I used to be like, ‘I don’t need something, I don’t want something from you. I’ve a dad.'”

Explaining that she felt the should be “loyal to Mickey,” Hargitay detailed the battle of coming to phrases with “dwelling a lie my complete life,” admitting that she contemplated about her place in both household.  She finally solid a bond with Sardelli and his daughters but in addition got here to just accept that “I grew up the place I used to be alleged to.”

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“I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter — that will not be a lie,” she added, tearfully. “This documentary is type of a love letter to him, as a result of there’s nobody that I used to be nearer to on this planet.”

The actress, who has two adopted youngsters with husband Peter Hermann, stated the entire ordeal has helped her in her personal journey as a dad or mum.

“They’re my children,” she stated. “Now I perceive a lot, and, boy, is it candy.”

My Mother Jayne marks Hargitay’s debut as a documentary director. The emotional movie had its world premiere on the Cannes Movie Competition on Saturday and is ready to have its TV debut June 27 on HBO.