Mariska Hargitay doesn’t remember the car accident that killed her mother

Mariska Hargitay has been keeping a family secret for more than 30 years.

At the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, the “Law & Order: SVU” star revealed at the premiere of her documentary, “My Mom Jayne,” that her biological father is former Las Vegas entertainer Nelson Sardelli. She was raised by late actor and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay.

The actress admitted to Vanity Fair that she struggled with the idea of “knowing I’m living a lie my entire life.” But the answer eventually became clear to her.

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Mariska Hargitay has a new documentary about her late mother, Jayne Mansfield, titled “My Mom Jayne.” (Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images)

“I grew up where I was supposed to, and I do know that everyone made the best choice for me,” she said. “I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter. That is not a lie. This documentary is kind of a love letter to him, because there’s no one that I was closer to on this planet.”

“He was my everything, my idol,” shared the 61-year-old about the patriarch, who died in 2006 at age 80. “He loved me so much, and I knew it. I also knew something else; I just didn’t know what I knew.”

Jayne Mansfield is shown with her husband, the Hungarian actor Mickey Hargitay. They were married from 1958 to 1964. (Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Growing up, Hargitay always felt she was different from her siblings, the outlet shared. It wouldn’t be until her 20s that she learned why.

Mariska Hargitay and her siblings were raised by Mickey Hargitay. (J. Countess/WireImage for Universal Television Productions)

In 1963, Hargitay’s mother, Jayne Mansfield, filed for divorce from Mickey. She then embarked on a high-profile romance with Sardelli. The actress went on to reconcile with Mickey several months before Hargitay’s birth in 1964.

Jayne Mansfield is seen here with Nelson Sardelli. (© Globe Photos/ZUMAPRESS.com/ALAMY)

When Hargitay was in her 20s, someone showed her a photo of the Italian entertainer. According to the outlet, Hargitay “immediately knew in her bones” that Sardelli was her biological father.

“It was like the floor fell out from under me,” she said in “My Mom Jayne.”

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Mariska Hargitay and her two older brothers survived the car crash that killed their mother, Jayne Mansfield (pictured here), in 1967. (Donaldson Collection/Getty Images)

Mansfield died in 1967 from injuries she sustained in a car crash. She was 34. Hargitay was 3 years old and asleep in the back seat of the car when it rammed into a truck.

After suspecting that Sardelli was her biological father, she confronted Mickey. He denied it. According to the outlet, the encounter was “so shattering” that she never mentioned Sardelli to Mickey again.

Mariska Hargitay is shown with Mickey Hargitay at the American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Allen Awards gala on June 22, 2004, in New York City. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

At age 30, Hargitay went to see Sardelli perform in Atlantic City. When she introduced herself, he burst into tears, telling her, “I’ve been waiting 30 years for this moment.”

Mariska Hargitay’s biological father is former Las Vegas entertainer Nelson Sardelli. (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Hargitay suddenly became fiercely protective of her father, the man who raised her and her siblings after her mother’s death.

“I went full Olivia Benson on him,” she told Vanity Fair about her first meeting with Sardelli. “I was like, ‘I don’t want anything. I don’t need anything from you … I have a dad.’ There was something about loyalty. I wanted to be loyal to Mickey.”

Mariska Hargitay attends the “Die My Love” red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 17, 2025, in Cannes, France. (Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Hargitay eventually forged a bond with Sardelli, 90, and his daughters. But when it came time to tell her story, she said “many people” were hesitant about the film coming out. But in time, both families gave Hargitay their blessing. The documentary features interviews with Hargitay’s siblings: Jayne Marie, Zoltan and Mickey Jr.

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Mariska Hargitay and siblings Mickey Hargitay Jr., Zoltan Hargitay and Jayne Marie Mansfield (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

The Sardelli sisters “wept and wept” when they saw a private screening of the documentary in Las Vegas, the outlet revealed.

“These two women that I love so much – I made them secrets!” said Hargitay. “It’s so heartbreaking to me. … I’m not good with lies. So, I also made this movie to unburden all of us.”

The film also helped Hargitay address the loss of her mother.

Jayne Mansfield circa 1955 (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

“I don’t remember the accident,” she said. “I don’t even remember being told that my mom had died. I looked at photos, and I don’t really remember anything until I was 5.”

Mansfield, born Vera Jayne Palmer, was an aspiring actress who spoke several languages and played violin and piano. A casting director suggested she bleach her hair, wear tighter dresses and adopt a Marilyn Monroe-inspired voice. The “dumb blonde” persona stuck and Mansfield skyrocketed to fame in Hollywood. But like Monroe, Mansfield struggled to be taken seriously as an actress.

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“When I would hear that fake voice, it used to just flip me out,” Hargitay recalled. “‘Why is she talking like that? That’s not real.’ [But] my dad would always say, ‘She wasn’t like that at all. She was like you. She was funny and irreverent and fearless and real.'”

“My Mom Jayne” premiered on May 17 at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It will air June 27 on HBO and HBO Max.