See 'Law and Order: SVU' Star Mariska Hargitay's Emotional Tribute to Mom Jayne Mansfield
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay is taking a moment to honor her mom, the late actress Jayne Mansfield, on the 55th anniversary of her death.
Fans know Mariska from her SVU tenure as Detective Olivia Benson, but long before, her mom paved the way in Hollywood. Jayne left her mark as one of the first Playboy Playmates and starred in dozens of TV shows, movies and plays, including her Golden Globe-winning performance as Rita Marlowe in the 1955 Broadway production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Unfortunately, a fatal car accident in 1967 claimed the Hollywood icon's life far too soon as well as the driver, Ronald B. Harrison, and her then-boyfriend, Samuel Brody. Mariska, asleep in the backseat, and her two brothers were also in the car and fortunately survived.
Nearly six decades after Jayne's death, the actress paid tribute to her mom on Instagram with a black-and-white Instagram photo of the starlet as she gazed out a window. The SVU star added a touching nod to her mother by using her famous quote as the caption: "We live to love you more each day ??."
Several Law and Order: SVU fans shared messages of love, while others pointed out the striking resemblance between the two. "Omg, she was stunning. Like mother, like daughter. ??," one person commented. "What a beautiful way to honor your mother! Although she lives on through you and your sister! ????," another added. "BREATHTAKING BEAUTY ... JUST LIKE HER MINI ME DAUGHTER!" a different user said.
Over the years, Mariska's been very open about losing her mother. In fact, she's channeled it into strength. “I learned about crisis very young, and I learned very young that s--t happens and there [are] no guarantees, and we keep going. And then we transform it,” she told Glamour in 2021.
The Chicago P.D. alum added: “That’s been kind of my superpower, and the gift of having trauma early in life. I’ve spent the last 50 — how old am I? — 57, so 54 years sort of trying to figure out what happened and why, and what am I supposed to do with it?”
In March 2018, Mariska, who shares three children with her husband, Peter Hermann, also revealed to People that she's coped with the loss by leaning into it. “I’m not saying it’s easy, and it certainly hasn’t been for me. There’s been a lot of darkness. But on the other side, things can be so bright.”
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