Mariska Hargitay reflected on her mother Jayne Mansfield’s death while attending the Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s 18th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar.
“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,” Hargitay said on Tuesday, according to 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.”
Hargitay’s mother, a Playboy Playmate and actress, died in a car crash at age 34 in 1967. The “Law & Order: SVU” star and two of her siblings were in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
Mariska Hargitay addressed her grief surrounding her mom Jayne Mansfield’s death on Tuesday.Getty Images
“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,” Hargitay said while at the Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s 18th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar.Getty Images
Growing up, Hargitay said, there “wasn’t room to prioritize anyone” in her family.Getty Images for Town & Country
While accepting the 2024 Hope Award for Depression Advocacy, the “Lake Placid” actress admitted it wasn’t until “much later in life” that she learned about the tools she needed to address her past traumas.
“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,” said Hargitay, 60, said.
She revealed that founding the Joyful Heart Foundation two decades ago was “part of my response to my own experience.”
“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,” the “Law and Order: SVU” actress said.Corbis via Getty Images
She said it wasn’t until “much later” in her life that she learned about tools to deal with her trauma.Getty Images for Town & Country
Hargitay went on to express her gratitude for her therapists who have helped her throughout her healing journey.
“I built a whole foundation that responded to trauma and survivors the way that I wanted to be responded to,” she continued in her speech.
“I had the good fortune to find extraordinary therapists who introduced me to many different healing modalities.”
Mansfield died in a car crash in 1967. Three of her children, including Hargitay, were in the vehicle at the time of the accident.Getty Images
Hargitay also spoke about her grief regarding her mother’s death during a 2018 interview with People.Bettmann Archive
The mother of three explained that complex trauma is something “so many of us carry.” But she assured others who might be struggling that “there is hope.”
In 2018, Hargitay revealed how she manages to “live with loss” during an interview with People.
“The way I’ve lived with loss is to lean into it,” she said at the time. “As the saying goes, the only way out is through. In my life, certainly I’ve tried to avoid pain, loss, feeling things. But I’ve learned instead to really lean into it, because sooner or later you have to pay the piper.”
Mansfield welcomed five children before her death in 1967: Jayne Marie Mansfield, Miklós “Mickey” Hargitay Jr., Zoltán Hargitay, Mariska and Antonio “Tony” Cimber.Getty Images
The “ER” alum said her experience with grief “hasn’t been easy” but that “on the other side things can be so bright.”
Mansfield’s daughter described her as an “amazing, beautiful, glamorous sex symbol.”
“She was just so ahead of her time. She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life, and I think I share that with her,” Hargitay said.
Mansfield welcomed five children before her death in 1967, including Jayne Marie Mansfield, Miklós “Mickey” Hargitay Jr., Zoltán Hargitay, Mariska and Antonio “Tony” Cimber.
