Mariska Hargitay reveals ‘labor of love’ project she embarked on for her tragic Hollywood star mother
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By SARAH SOTOODEH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 23:15 BST, 8 April 2025 | Updated: 00:01 BST, 9 April 2025
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Mariska Hargitay revealed she is making a documentary about her mother, the late actress Jayne Mansfield.
The Law & Order: SVU star will make her directorial debut for the project, set to be called My Mom Jayne.
The actress, 61, called the movie, which is set to release in June, a ‘labor of love and longing,’ she told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement.
Jayne was not only an international sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s, but an award winning actress – winning a Golden Globe Award and a Theatre World Award.
Jayne tragically died at age 34 in a car accident in Biloxi, Mississippi on June 29, 1967.
Mariska was in the car with her mom during the horrific accident; Mariska was three years old at the time, along with her siblings Miklos, then eight, and Zoltan, then six.
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Mariska Hargitay revealed she is making a documentary about her mother, the late actress Jayne Mansfield; Mariska pictured March 17, 2025
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Mariska as a child, pictured with parents Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield, and brother Zoltan
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Jayne was not only an international sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s, but an award winning actress – winning a Golden Globe Award and a Theatre World Award; Jayne seen in the 1950s
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The accident took place on US Highway 90 on June 29, 1967 in Biloxi with Jayne, her attorney and partner Sam Brody (who was 40), and the driver (Ronald B. Harrison, 19) in front row with two of her dogs, and her three kids Mariska, Miklos and Zoltan with her other two dogs in the back.
They left the Gus Stevens Supper Club after midnight to head to New Orleans for an appearance Jayne was set to make the next day.
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Mariska Hargitay makes rare comments about the ‘trauma’ of losing mother Jayne Mansfield at age three
However at 2:25 am on June 29, 1967, the car crashed into the back of a tractor trailer that had slowed down in front of it – which occurred because of a insecticide fog spraying truck flashing a red light ahead of them.
The front row (Jayne, Sam and Ronald) plus two dogs died instantly – with the back row – her three kids and two dogs – only had minor injuries.
The kids were sleeping in the back of the car.
Jayne had five kids total – daughter Jayne Marie with first husband Paul Mansfield, three children (Miklos, Zoltan and Mariska) with her second husband Mickey Hargitay – and one son Antonio with third husband Matt Cimber.
Jayne, who was born on April 19, 1933, first appeared in Playboy magazine as the February 1955 Playmate of the Month, and multiple other issues after.
As an actress, she starred in The Girl Can’t Help It, The Wayward Bus, Too Hot to Handle and Promises! Promises!, as well as the Broadway play Will Success Rock Hunter?
‘This movie is a labor of love and longing. It’s a search for the mother I never knew, an integration of a part of myself I’d never owned, and a reclaiming of my mother’s story and my own truth,’ Mariska told THR.
‘I’ve always believed there is strength in vulnerability, and the process of making this film has confirmed that belief like never before,’ she added.
My Mom Jayne, which will air on HBO, will follow Mariska as she ‘seeks to know, understand, and embrace her mom for the first time,’ per the outlet.
Mariska Hargitay ‘happy to step in’ for Hoda Kotb on TODAY Show
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Jayne tragically died at age 34 in a car accident in Biloxi, Mississippi on June 29, 1967
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Jayne, who was born on April 19, 1933, first appeared in Playboy magazine as the February 1955 Playmate of the Month, and multiple other issues after
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View gallery
As an actress, she starred in The Girl Can’t Help It, The Wayward Bus, Too Hot to Handle and Promises! Promises!, as well as the Broadway play Will Success Rock Hunter?
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View gallery
My Mom Jayne, which will air on HBO, will follow Mariska as she ‘seeks to know, understand, and embrace her mom for the first time,’ per the outlet; Jayne pictured
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Mariska was in the car with her mom during the horrific accident; Mariska was three years old at the time, along with her siblings Miklos, then eight, and Zoltan, then six; pictured: Edmond O’Brien, Tom Ewell, and Jayne Mansfield with her five children Antonio Raphael Ottaviano Cimber, Zoltan Hargitay, Miklos Hargitay, Jr., Jayne Marie Mansfield, and Mariska Hargitay
‘Law and Order: SVU’ Mariska Hargitay helps a lost child
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Mariska has made a name for herself in Hollywood – most known for her iconic role of Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
She has played Olivia in the hit series since 1999.
She is a Globe Globe winner and a two-time Emmy winner, with her own Hollywood Walk of Fame star, which she received in 2013.
