Mariska Hargitay talks about the tragic car accident in which her mother Jayne Mansfield died

By Delish

Mariska Hargitay was involved in the 1967 car crash that tragically killed her mother, the blonde bombshell of the ’50s and ’60s Jayne Mansfield, as well as the 19-year-old driver, Ronald B. Harrison, and Mansfield’s lawyer and then-boyfriend, Samuel S. Brody. Mansfield’s two other children from her marriage to her ex-husband and former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay also died.

While all three adults were thrown from the vehicle and died, Mariska, then three years old and sleeping in the back seat, and her brothers, 8-year-old Mickey Jr. and 6-year-old Zoltan, survived.

Although the Law & Order: Special Unit for Victims The 53-year-old actress has said she doesn’t remember the accident, but the scar on the side of her head served as a reminder. As did the constant comparisons to her equally gorgeous and brilliant (her IQ was reportedly 163) mother that dogged Hargitay throughout her career. Now, more than 50 years after the accident, she spoke about the loss of her mother in an interview with. People.

The actress told the publication:

The car was traveling from Biloxi, Mississippi, to New Orleans, where Mansfield was scheduled to appear on television. A truck ahead of them sprayed mosquitoes and emitted a thick white mist that may have obscured Harrison’s vision and caused the full-speed collision.

Because of the accident, Hargitay lost the chance to meet Mansfield, who was only 34 years old when she died and was best known for her roles in The girl can’t help it (1956), The stubborn bus (1957) and Promises Promises! (1963) as well as her imitations of Marilyn Monroe and her publicity stunts.

“My mother was this amazing, beautiful, glamorous sex symbol – but people didn’t know that she played the violin, had an IQ of 160, had five children and loved dogs,” she continued. Peopleclose to tears. “She was just so far ahead of her time. She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life and I think I share that with her.”

Mother and daughter also bear an uncanny resemblance. “Someone once said of my mother, ‘All you have to do is look in the mirror,'” she added. “She’s still with me.”

But, as the actress said Weekly closer In August, such comparisons were not always easy to hear. “In some ways, being the daughter of a Hollywood icon was a burden,” the publication quoted Hargitay as saying. “I used to hate constant references to my mother because I wanted to be known for myself. Losing my mother at such a young age is a scar on my soul.”

The Emmy award-winning actress and founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation said something similar to Red Book in 2009, adding, “But I feel like it ultimately made me the person I am today. I understand the journey of life. I had to go through what I went through to be here.”

She said her children August, Amaya and Andrew, whom she has with her husband Peter Hermann, helped her heal.

“Being a wife and mother is my life and that is what gives me the most joy,” Hargitay continued Weekly closer. “I understand (my mother) in a new way that gives me peace. Now I understand the love she had inside her and that makes me feel closer to her.”

(h/t: People)

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