Jayne Mansfield’s Daughter Is All Grown Up And Looks Just Like Movie Star Mother

Dec 08, 2020

Legendary Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield rose to fame in the 1950s after starring in films such as “The Girl Can't Help It” and “The Wayward Bus.” It was not just her acting that propelled her to stardom though, but her dazzling good looks and alluring charm.

Mansfield's strong genes and acting prowess have clearly been passed on to her daughter, as Mariska Hargitay greatly resembles her mother, and has a natural talent for acting too.

Mariska Hargitay had a turbulent start to life when her mother, Jayne Mansfield, died in a tragic car accident in 1967 when she was just 34 years old. Hargitay was only three years old at the time and sadly was in the vehicle at the time of the incident, along with her brothers Miklós (Mickey Jr.) and Zoltán Hargitay.

Luckily, all three children escaped with minor injuries. We can only imagine how traumatizing it was to witness the accident first-hand. But Hargitay survived the accident, and the grief, and has not let it ruin her life, instead, she has taken her mother’s legacy and made it into her own.

Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Inspired by Shirley Temple, Mansfield took acting and dance lessons, reports Her Moments. She also won various beauty contests which helped her exposure.

Mansfield’s career finally took off when she was given a part in the low-budget film “Female Jungle” in 1955. The coverage she received for this film saw her get selected to be on the cover of Playboy magazine and also be that February’s Playmate of the Month. This helped her secure a long and close relationship with Hugh Hefner’s publication and helped launch Mansfield's career in both acting and modeling.

Mansfield became a sex symbol and but was also praised highly for her acting. She received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" in 1957. She continued to have roles in films such as “The Burglar” and “Too Hot to Handle,” but couldn’t shake off her label as “The Poor Man’s Marilyn Monroe.”

While driving to New Orleans from a nightclub appearance in Mississippi, Mansfield was killed in a car accident when her vehicle collided with the trailer of a tractor. She left behind her five children, Jayne Marie Mansfield, Zoltán, Mariska and Mickey Jr. Hargitay, and Tony Climber.

Mariska Hargitay was born in Santa Monica, California. Her father was the Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 80. After the death of her mother, Hargitay was raised by her father and his third wife, Ellen Siano, along with her siblings and half-siblings.

Mariska Hargitay followed in her mother’s footsteps by entering beauty pageants. She was crowned Miss Beverly Hills USA, and also competed in the Miss California USA. She later attended acting school.

She is best known for starring as Captain Olivia Benson on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It was in this role that Hargitay’s strong resemblance to her mother became apparent. Even Hargitay herself brought it to light with some beautiful photos she shared of her iconic mother.

Hargitay who is now 56 years old, told PEOPLE the resemblance to her mother is an honor and tribute to her and helps her feels as if “she is still with me.” As she was only three-years-old she doesn’t remember the crash, but she does have a daily reminder of it: a zig-zag scar on the side of her head.

Decades later, and a lifetime without her mother, Haritgay reminisces on her career in comparison to her mother’s.

Hargitay told PEOPLE, “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… She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life, and I think I share that with her.”

After being compared to her mother for the majority of her life, she has now embraced the similarities. “Someone once said about [remembering] my mother: ‘All you have to do is look in the mirror’,” she recalled. Married to actor Peter Hermann, who she met on the set of Law & Order: SVU, she is content with her personal life and public life.

As well as her acting career and striking looks, Hargitay is the founder and former president of the Joyful Heart Foundation, a charity close to her heart that provides support to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.

Jayne Mansfield’s legacy lives on through her daughter. Do you think the pair look alike? Share this story with any film fans you know!