Mariska Hargitay’s fans believed she was the daughter of Hollywood icons Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay. However, in May 2025, the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actress revealed a major family secret – sharing that her biological father is actually Nelson Sardelli.

Mariska Hargitay revealed a decades-long secret about her biological father's identity in a new documentary called "My Mom Jayne."

Actress Mariska Hargitay released a family secret bombshell in a new interview. For years, it was publicly believed that Hargitay's father was Mickey Hargitay, described by Vanity Fair as "a Hungarian bodybuilding champion turned actor who married Mansfield in 1956.