Mariska Magdolna Hargitay was born January 23, 1964, in Los Angeles, California. The youngest daughter of legendary actress and sexual icon of the '50s and '60s, Jayne Mansfield (née Vera Jane Palmer), and former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay, Mariska is no stranger to the spotlight, or to beauty.

Mariska has little recollection of her blonde bombshell mother who was killed in a car accident when Mariska was a mere 3 years old, and actually in the backseat of the car. And despite her acting roots and famous parents, Mariska did not always intend on being an actress.