Mariska Hargitay

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 (n?e 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. While a student at high school, Mariska was involved in cheerleading, student government and athletics, and randomly became involved in theater, as a way to broaden her horizons as a student. Incidentally, she enjoyed acting, and went off to study at UCLA's theater arts department. In 1982, Hargitay was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA,[3] and was fourth runner up at the Miss California USA Pageant in Oxnard. She made her screen debut with a small role in Star 80.

Within a few years she had landed recurring roles in the television series Downtown and Falcon Crest, in which she played the character Carly Fixx. She portrayed police officer Angela Garcia in the 1992 series Tequila & Bonetti, and appeared in an episode of the fourth season of Seinfeld. Two years later, Hargitay portrayed Didi Edelstein, the sexy next-door neighbor, in the 1995 sitcom Can't Hurry Love, which starred Nancy McKeon. In 1997, Hargitay played detective Nina Echeverria on the drama series Prince Street, and had a recurring role as Cynthia Hooper during the fourth season of ER.