Mariska Hargitay's My Mom Jayne Uncovers Surprising Family Secrets and a Hollywood Legend's Real Story

Mariska Hargitay, the actress we all know from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is finally trying to truly understand her late mother. Her mother was the actress, sex symbol, and Playboy playmate Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay is taking us along for the ride in her first feature film as a director, called My Mom Jayne. This documentary is set to premiere on HBO on June 27. It feels like a long time coming for a story like this.

Hargitay says in the trailer for the documentary, "I’ve spent my whole life distancing myself from my mother." She added, "Her career made me want to do it differently. But I want to understand her now." This personal journey is at the heart of the film. It gives us a new way to see a star whose life was cut short too soon. Jayne Mansfield died tragically in a car accident at just 34 years old. Mariska was only three years old at the time. She was one of five children Jayne left behind. This film lets Mariska and her siblings look at their loss and their mother's life in a very public way.

In her film, the SVU star wants to answer questions about her mother. She also encourages her siblings to face their grief. As she goes along, Mariska finds out surprising details about Jayne. She also learns more about herself. My Mom Jayne combines never-before-seen photos and home movies with footage from the 1950s and 1960s. This blend shows who Jayne Mansfield was both in public and in private. It is a story of loss and healing. It shows the good things that come from an honest search for truth.

The Bombshell Revelation: Mariska Hargitay's Biological Father Is Not Who Everyone Thought

Uncovering a Family Secret That Has Been Hidden For Decades

Ahead of her highly-awaited documentary’s premiere Mariska shared a surprising piece of news in an interview with Vanity Fair. Her biological father is not Mickey Hargitay. Mickey Hargitay was the bodybuilder and actor who was Mansfield’s second and most well-known husband. Instead her biological father is Nelson Sardelli a singer with whom Mansfield had an affair in 1963. This is a pretty big secret to keep for so long. It definitely adds a new layer to the story of Jayne Mansfield’s life.

My Mom Jayne will take a deeper look at Mariska’s paternity. It will also explore how the men in Mansfield’s life affected her career and public image. It is interesting to think about how these personal details change the story we thought we knew about a Hollywood star. Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer and was naturally a brunette. She met her first husband Paul Mansfield in high school in Texas. They married in 1950 when Jayne was only 17 and pregnant with her first child Jayne Marie. Some writers have questioned if Paul was Jayne Marie’s biological father but that is just talk.

Jayne had not started her career as a teen mom. Paul did not like her movie-star goals. This put a strain on their marriage. They separated in 1955 and had a difficult divorce. Paul tried but failed to get custody of their daughter. Their divorce became final in 1958. By then Jayne was famous. During their divorce Jayne even said Paul was jealous of her pet Chihuahua which is quite a claim. Paul died in 2013 at 83. Jayne decided to keep his last name because she thought it had "star quality." That name ended up being a big part of her public image.

Mansfield met her most famous husband Mickey Hargitay in 1956. He was performing in Mae West’s nightclub act. She famously joked to a waiter "I’ll have a steak and that tall man on the left." They married shortly after her divorce was final in 1958. Hargitay was Mr. Universe in 1955. He and Mansfield both loved getting attention. They became a regular tabloid story. They often performed together on stage. Their act involved him picking her up and spinning her around while both wore skimpy leopard-print bathing suits. They were quite a pair. This was a bold move at the time, especially for public figures.

Beyond The Public Image: The Real Jayne Mansfield Behind The Headlines

Exploring Her Talents, Relationships, and The Pain of a Life Cut Short

Mansfield and Hargitay appeared on TV regularly. They also acted in plays and films together. They worked on businesses too. In 1963 they even co-wrote a book. They had two children Mickey Jr. and Zoltan. They also raised Mariska who was believed to be Mickey’s biological child until the recent news. The family famously lived in the Pink Palace in Los Angeles. It was a mansion decorated with 1950s kitsch, including a pink heart-shaped swimming pool Mickey built himself. Their marriage only lasted six years but it made a big impact on pop culture. They were perhaps some of the first "influencers" and their antics felt like reality TV. In 1980 a TV movie about their relationship was released.

Mickey Hargitay died in 2006. After Mansfield passed away he said, "Nobody really understood her. Nobody knew the real Jayne." This quote really hits home. It suggests there was much more to her than the public saw. Mansfield had affairs with director Enrico Bomba and singer Nelson Sardelli in the early 1960s. She filed for divorce from Hargitay in 1962. Their dramatic split became final in 1964. At the same time Mansfield found out she was pregnant with Mariska. They briefly got back together to avoid the scandal of single motherhood. The divorce was not announced publicly until after Mariska was born. This shows the pressures women faced in Hollywood back then.

Until now Mickey was thought to be Mariska’s biological father. Mariska admitted in the Vanity Fair interview that she had always felt something was off. She said, "Mickey was my everything, my idol. He loved me so much, and I knew it. I also knew something else—I just didn’t know what I knew." When she was in her 20s someone showed her a photo of Sardelli. She immediately felt a connection to him. In the documentary she talks about that moment of truth. She said "It was like the floor fell out from underneath me. Like my infrastructure dissolved." That sounds like a truly shocking moment.

When Mariska spoke to Mickey he denied that Sardelli was her father. The talk was so painful Mariska never brought it up again. At 30 Mariska saw Sardelli perform. He greeted her tearfully saying "I’ve been waiting 30 years for this moment." But Mariska told him, "I don’t want anything, I don’t need anything from you . . . I have a dad." She explained to Vanity Fair, "There was something about loyalty. I wanted to be loyal to Mickey." This shows a strong loyalty to the man who raised her. Mariska has since made peace with her family history. Making the documentary helped her deal with her feelings. She now says "I grew up where I was supposed to, and I do know that everyone made the best choice for me. 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."

Jayne Mansfield's Final Years and The Documentary's Lasting Impact

Reflecting on Her Career Decline and the Emotional Journey of Her Daughter's Film

Mansfield met her third husband Matt Cimber when he was directing her and Hargitay in a play. Mansfield and Cimber married in 1964. He became her manager. During this time her career was not doing well. He directed her in a B-movie which was her final film. It was released after her death. Mansfield and Cimber had a son Tony. They split up after only one year together. They divorced in 1966. Their relationship had problems with her affairs and drinking. After their divorce she started dating her attorney Sam Brody. Brody was killed along with Mansfield in the terrible 1967 car crash. Before the crash Jayne Marie had accused Brody of abuse. This was a dark period in her life.

While Mansfield’s relationships get a lot of attention, there is also a sad side to them. She was often not taken seriously by the public. Her life ended so soon. She saw her marriage to Cimber as a turning point in her career. She said that in the play Bus Stop, "I got good reviews, not as a sex goddess, but as an actress. That’s when I met my husband who was directing the play. The experience started whole new cravings in me." It is sad that these new goals could not be fully achieved. Her story is a reminder of the pressures Hollywood put on its stars. It also shows the personal struggles that often went on behind the glitz and glamour.

Mariska Hargitay’s documentary promises to give us a more complete picture of Jayne Mansfield. It moves beyond the public image. It focuses on the person beneath it all. It is a story about identity, grief, and forgiveness. It offers a new understanding of a Hollywood legend. It is also a very personal look at how a daughter comes to terms with her mother's complicated life. I think many people will find this film both touching and revealing.