Mariska Hargitay Says She Learned "What Not to Do" From Her Late Mother Jayne Mansfield

“The reason that I’m like the way I am is because I learned from her."

• Mariska Hargitay is opening up about the things she has learned from her late mother, Jayne Mansfield.
• In a profile with The New York Times, Hargitay said she looked to her mom for "what not to do."
• The Law & Order: SVU star's documentary titled, My Mom Jayne, recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival

The Gist

Mariska Hargitay is opening up about all of the things she has learned from her late mother, Jayne Mansfield—the good, the bad, and the ugly. After the premiere of her movie about the 1960s performer, My Mom Jayne, Hargitay told The New York Times that she has gleaned some valuable lessons from Mansfield's life.

“The reason that I’m like the way I am is because I learned from her,” she told the publication. “I learned what not to do. I learned to not let anyone tell me—that I decide.”

Hargitay even recalls her father telling her that Mansfield “listened to the wrong people, and that they tried to mold her and make her."

“She was amazing,” she added. “That’s been the gift: I got to see her. I got to have so many moments with her. And we got to make a movie together.”

She continued, “She didn’t get to do the kind of art she wanted. But we did it together. We made a piece of art together."

When Hargitay was just 3 years old, she and two of her siblings, Mickey Jr. and Zoltan, survived the car crash that killed their mother in 1967. In the documentary, which will be available on HBO June 27, Hargitay also recalls learning the truth about her biological father. She believed her father to be Mickey Hargitay, though, later found out that Nelson Sardelli was actually her dad.

Hargitay now feels "at peace" after making the documentary about her mom's life, explaining that now the truth is "so clear" to her. “This big haze came off—a veil of fear. And now I just feel so much at peace," she told the outlet. "It’s like a miracle to me to feel this way. I never thought I could. You know, there’s so much pain left in the unsaid. And I just wanted to say it. I’m not scared. I can be more Olivia Benson now.”

Hargitay's husband, actor Peter Hermann, has been there with her every step of the way. He and their three kids, August, Amaya, and Andrew, have been present at several red carpets ahead of the film's release. The Law & Order: SVU star got emotional when speaking about her family's support in a recent interview with InStyle.

“Well my husband is my biggest supporter, and it’s been amazing," she gushed. "Being in Cannes with the family was kind of like tectonic plates shifting," she says. "It was so beautiful and to see my children proud of me was…I don't have the word for it but [it was] deeply meaningful."