Mariska Hargitay Biography
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Mariska Hargitay
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| Mariska Hargitay | |||||||||||
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 Mariska Hargitay in 2007. |
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| Born | Mariska Magdolina Hargitay January 23, 1964 Santa Monica, California, USA |
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| Occupation | Actress | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1985 – present | ||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Peter Hermann (2004 – present) | ||||||||||
| Official website | |||||||||||
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Mariska Magdolina Hargitay (born January 23, 1964) is a American actress, best known for her Emmy Award- winning portrayal of Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role she originated in 1999.
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Career
In 1982, Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA,1 and was fourth runner up at the Miss California USA Pageant in Oxnard. She made her screen debut with a small role in Star 80. Within a few years she had landed recurring roles in the television series Downtown and Falcon Crest, in which she played the character Carly Fixx. She portrayed police officer Angela Garcia in the 1992 series Tequila & Bonetti, and appeared in an episode of the fourth season of Seinfeld. Two years later, Hargitay portrayed Didi Edelstein, the sexy next-door neighbor, in the 1995 sitcom Can't Hurry Love, which starred Nancy McKeon. In 1997, Hargitay played detective Nina Echeverria on the drama series Prince Street, and had a recurring role as Cynthia Hooper during the fourth season of ER.
Hargitay has appeared on numerous other television programs, including: Freddy's Nightmares, Ellen, All American Girl, Baywatch, Cracker, Gabriel's Fire, In the Heat of the Night, JoJo's Circus, The Single Guy, Wiseguy, and thirtysomething. Her voice is featured on the 2005 video game True Crime: New York City. Hargitay also had a minor role ("Hooker in Bar") in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas, and briefly replaced Gabrielle Fitzpatrick in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, although the footage was deemed unusable.
Since 1999, Hargitay has portrayed Det. Olivia Benson, the female lead in the drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. "As a woman, it’s gratifying to play such a multilayered part," she stated on her official website. "Olivia is not only a competent, street-smart cop, she’s also an empathetic woman who can respond emotionally to victims of terrible crimes without compromising her professionalism."2
According to the Guinness Book of World Records 2008 edition, Hargitay is the highest paid TV actress working today.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
- 2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2005: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2006: Won, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2007: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2008: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2005: Won, "Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2004: Won, "Individual Achievement for Best Female Lead - Drama - Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2004: Nominated, "Performance in a Drama Series Episode" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2007: Won, "Performance in a Drama Series Episode" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2000: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Drama" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2006: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2007: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
TV Guide Awards
- 2000: Nominated, "Favorite Actress in a New Series" - Law & Order: SVU
- 2007: Nominated, "Favorite Lady Gumshoe" - Law & Order: SVU
Viewers For Quality Television Awards
- 2000: Nominated, "Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series" - Law & Order: SVU
Personal life
Hargitay was born at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Jayne Mansfield, an actress and 1950s-era sex symbol, and Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. Her first and middle names are Hungarian for Mary Magdalene. Her family name has Hungarian references also. It means: "of Hargita". Hargitay has two half-sisters, Jayne Marie Mansfield and Tina Hargitay; two brothers, Miklós and Zoltán Hargitay; and a half-brother, Antonio Ottaviano (a.k.a. Tony Cimber).citation needed
Hargitay's parents had divorced in May 1963, but a judge later found their Mexican divorce invalid. They had reconciled a few months before Mariska's birth in January 1964 but soon separated again, and in August 1964, the divorce was ruled legal. A few weeks later, Mansfield married the director Matt Cimber, who had directed her in a 1964 production of the William Inge play Bus Stop.
On June 29, 1967, Hargitay was in an automobile accident in which her mother, her mother's lover, and their driver were killed; she was left with a zig-zag scar on one side of her head. Her brothers Miklós and Zoltán were also in the car, but escaped with minor injuries. After the death of their mother, the three siblings were raised by their father and his third wife, Ellen Siano.
Hargitay was active in the theater program of her secondary school Marymount High School; and she attended UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma)3 but left six months before graduating as she began her career.4
Hargitay speaks Hungarian, French, Spanish and Italian as well as English.5 On August 28, 2004, in Santa Barbara, California, she married Peter Hermann, an actor and writer who has often appeared on SVU as Defense Attorney Trevor Langan.6 On June 28, 2006, Hargitay gave birth to August Miklos Friedrich Hermann, by caesarean section. During the last months of her pregnancy, she took maternity leave from SVU, and was temporarily replaced by Connie Nielsen.
Upon winning her Emmy on August 27, 2006, Hargitay made a point of thanking her father for everything he had done for her in her life. Just 17 days later, on September 14, 2006, her father died from multiple myeloma in Los Angeles, California, aged 80. She has since been a honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.7
Hargitay co-founded the Joyful Heart Foundation8, an organization that provides support to women who have been sexually assaulted. Hargitay also has worked with the Mount Sinai Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention program; NBC's “The More You Know” campaign; Safe Horizon; Santa Monica Rape Crisis Treatment Center; Project ALS; Girl Scouts of the USA; and the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness.
References
- ^ Carter, E. Graydon. People, Time, June 7, 1982. Accessed August 4, 2008.
- ^ Bio from mariska.com
- ^ About Kappa Kappa Gamma from the Stanford University website
- ^ Awards and Nominees from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television website
- ^ Diaz, Johnny. Speaking volumes: Use of Spanish booms on network programs, The Boston Globe, November 13, 2005. Accessed August 3, 2008.
- ^ Peter Hermann at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Honorary Board from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation website
- ^ The Joyful Heart Foundation
External links
- Official website
- Joyful Heart Foundation, founded by Hargitay
- Mariska Hargitay at the Internet Movie Database
- Mariska Hargitay at TV.com
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by Frances Conroy for Six Feet Under |
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Drama Series 2004 for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
Succeeded by Geena Davis for Commander in Chief |
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