Mariska Hargitay Shares Rare Comments About Mom Jayne Mansfield's Death
Mariska Hargitay opened up about the impact of losing her mother, Jayne Mansfield, at a young age.
"I lost my mother when I was 3 years old, and I grew up in a house of people dealing with the tragedy in their own way," the 60-year-old Law & Order: SVU star said during the Hope for Depression Research Foundation's 18th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar in New York City on Tuesday, November 12, per Us Weekly .
"Because there was so much grief, there wasn't room to prioritize anyone. We didn't have the tools that we have now to metabolize and understand trauma," explained Hargitay, who doesn't often speak about her mother's death.
Mansfield, who was a Playboy Playmate and actress, died at age 34 in a car crash. She had been traveling to New Orleans, Louisiana for a TV appearance she had scheduled the following day. The accident on June 29, 1967 killed Mansfield, her driver Ronald B. Harrison, and her lawyer, Samuel S. Brody. Three of her children — including Hargitay — had been asleep in the backseat at the time of the crash and sustained injuries, but survived.
Hargitay was at Tuesday's event to accept the 2024 Hope Award for Depression Advocacy, and noted in her speech that it had taken her years to be able to process the traumas in her life.
"I also suffered sexual trauma in my 30s, it wasn't until much later that I found the language to acknowledge it for what it was," she shared.
In her acceptance speech, Hargitay also spoke about the Joyful Heart Foundation , which she founded in 2004 in response to her own experiences, as well as after hearing from victims who wrote to her due to her work as Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
The mission of the Joyful Heart Foundation, per their website, is to transform society's response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors' healing, and end this violence forever.
"I built a whole foundation that responded to trauma and survivors the way that I wanted to be responded to," Hargitay explained, noting that "trauma lives in the body." She expressed her gratitude for specialists who were able to help her, sharing,"I had the good fortune to find extraordinary therapists who introduced me to many different healing modalities... These modalities gave me my life back."
Hargitay emphasized how so many people are carrying grief and trauma "internally that other people can't see." She highlighted the importance of the response to such hardships, and shared a positive message for anyone else who might be struggling.
"One of the most important things — if not the most important things — that I learned is the depth and the singular beauty and far-reaching significance of the word respond," she said, adding, "There is hope."
