Of part-Hungarian ancestry through her father, actress Mariska Magdolna Hargitay was born on the 23rd January 1964, in Santa Monica, California USA. Mariska has been involved in the entertainment industry since 1983, but is probably best recognized as Olivia Benson from the long-running television series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” from 1999 to the present, which has won her a number of personal and collective awards, including Golden Globe and Emmy. Hargitay is involved not only in the acting, but directs and produces the television series.
So how rich is Mariska Hargitay, as of early 2017? Authoritative sources have estimated that the net worth of Mariska reaches almost $50 million, unsurprising as she is reputed to earn $400,000 per episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, which continues on air, and makes her one of the highest paid actors.
Mariska Hargitay Net Worth $50 Million
Mariska Hargitay was born to two celebrities – her father Mickey became an actor after winning the 1955 Mr. Universe title, and her mother, Jayne Mansfield, was the actress, singer, and Hollywood sex symbol of the 1950s. Prior to launching her career as an actress, Mariska appeared several pageants, being crowned as Miss Beverly Hills, and participating in the Miss California USA competition. Afterwards, she decided to throw herself seriously into acting, and attended the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television. Initially Mariska appeared in several music videos, then in 1985 she debuted on the big screen with a role in the film “Ghoulies”.
Subsequently, Hargitay was part of the main cast of the crime drama series “Downtown” in 1986, then appeared in a great number of television series of varying quality over the period 1987 to 1999, including “Falcon Crest”, “Tequila and Bonetti”, “Hotel Room”, “Gambler V: Playing for Keeps”. “All-American Girl”, “The Single Guy” , and “ER” from 1997 to ‘98), as well as feature films including “Jocks”, “The Perfect Weapon” and “Leaving Las Vegas” .
All these added consistently to her overall net worth, however, without doubt the most successful and fruitful role she has landed is that of Detective Olivia Benson in the series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, which has aired 358 episodes from 1999 to date, and is still one of the most popular crime dramas shown on TV. The series has added significant amounts to Hargitay’s bank account, as consequently Mariska has appeared in many series’ spin-offs, for example, “Law & Order: Trial by Jury”. Moreover, since 2014 she has become a director and producer of the series, an extra input to her net worth.
Always active, Mariska continues to land roles in other well-known series too, including in “Plain Truth” and “My Life on the D-List”, as well as films including “Perfume”. “Tales from Earthsea” and “The Love Guru” though none of the characters created have been as successful or lucrative as the detective Olivia Benson.
In her personal life, Mariska Hargitay has been married to the actor and writer Peter Hermann since 2004, and they are the parents of three children, two of them adopted. Mariska is also a polyglot, fluent in five languages including Italian, Spanish, French and Hungarian. Additionally, she organizes many charity events, and is a direct generous donator to various funds too.
