<P> Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (/ məˈrɪʃkə ˈhɑːrɡɪteɪ / mə - RISH - kə HAR - ghih - tay; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress known for her role as New York Police Department Lieutenant Olivia Benson on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . For her role on the show, Hargitay has received multiple awards and nominations, including a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe . </P> <P> The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, Hargitay made her film debut in the 1985 horror comedy film Ghoulies and her major television debut in the 1986 adventure drama series Downtown . She appeared in numerous roles in film and television shows throughout the late 1980s and 1990s before being cast as Olivia Benson, a role that led to her founding the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to women who have been sexually abused . </P> <P> Hargitay was born at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of actress and 1950s - era sex symbol Jayne Mansfield . Her father was the Hungarian - born former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay . Her first and middle names are Hungarian and refer to Mary Magdalene (Mariska is a diminutive of Mary). Hargitay was raised Roman Catholic . She has two older brothers, Miklós and Zoltán, and three half - siblings, Jayne Marie Mansfield and Antonio "Tony" Cimber (from her mother's first and third marriages, respectively) and Tina Hargitay (from her father's first marriage). </P> <P> Hargitay's parents divorced in May 1963, but a judge later found their Mexican divorce invalid . They reconciled a few months before Hargitay's birth in January 1964, but soon separated again . In August 1964 her mother successfully petitioned the court to rule the Mexican divorce 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, Mansfield was killed in an automobile accident on a stretch of U.S. Route 90 between New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi . Her boyfriend, Sam Brody, and the driver were also killed . Asleep in the back of the vehicle, Mariska, then three and a half years old, was left with a zigzag 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 dislikes comparisons with her famous mother and at age 18 said, "My dad was Mr. Universe, so it would be fun for me to be Miss Universe ." </P>

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