Born into a famous family, Law & Order actress Mariska Hargitay was destined to be a star early on. The daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay stepped onto the acting scene in 1985’s The Ghoulies. It was only just the beginning of Mariska’s transformation in Hollywood to become one of the biggest stars on primetime television.

Mariska Hargitay Transformation: Photos Then and Now

Mariska, born in 1964, lost her mother when she was 3 years old in a car accident in 1967. After a devastating loss at such a young age, the Emmy winner has continued to honor her mother’s memory.

“My mother was this amazing, beautiful, glamor­ous sex symbol — but people didn’t know that she played the violin and had a 160 IQ and had five kids and loved dogs,” Mariska told People in March 2018. “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.”

As a teen, the NBC star entered the beauty pageant circuit, competing in the Miss California USA pageant. Mariska briefly attended UCLA before venturing into the world of acting in the mid-’80s. Her breakout role came in the CBS drama Downtown in 1986. It led to a slew of other television roles in shows like Falcon Crest, Baywatch and Can’t Hurry Love.

In 1997, Mariska snagged a recurring role on ER, the long-running series that would establish her as one of the top drama actresses on television. Two years later, the California native landed the lead role of Olivia Benson in NBC’s crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit opposite Christopher Meloni. Despite her costar leaving the show, Mariska has continued to lead the series after more than two decades.

“I thought I was done when Chris Meloni left, that this season would be my last year,” she told The Wrap in June 2014. “We discussed the arc of the season and what I want the end for Olivia to be. But we are in this arc that has challenged me so deeply, I’m more on fire than I’ve
 ever been. I thought, ‘There’s more to mine here.’ So Warren [Leight, the show’s co-writer] knows I’ll go anywhere, and he’ll go anywhere. I’m still here because I’m happy.”