Mariska Hargitay has revealed that her next project will be a โlabor of love and longingโ that honors her mother, Hollywood bombshell Jayne Mansfield, who died in 1967.ย
The โLaw & Order: SVUโ star will make her feature film directorial debut with an upcoming HBO Original documentary called โMy Mom Jayneโ set to air in June, Warner Bros. Discovery announced April 8. The movie will examine Mansfieldโs life before her tragic death in a car accident at the age of 34. Hargitay, who is also the daughter of late bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay, was only 3 years old when her mother died.ย
โThe film follows Mariska as she seeks to know, understand, and embrace her mother for the first time,โ a synopsis of the documentary said. โThrough intimate interviews and a collection of never-before-seen photos and home movies, she grapples with her motherโs public and private legacy and discovers the layers and depth of who Jayne was, not only to her audience but to those who were closest to her.โ
Hargitay, who produced the film as well, shared a statement that described the movie as โa labor of love and longing.โ
โItโs a search for the mother I never knew, an integration of a part of myself Iโd never owned, and a reclaiming of my motherโs story and my own truth,โ she said.ย
She added, โIโve always believed there is strength in vulnerability, and the process of making this film has confirmed that belief like never before.โ
Hargitay and HBOโs official Instagram account also uploaded a joint post that confirmed the documentary will also stream on Max in June. The post included a sweet childhood photo of Hargitay smiling as she wrapped her arms around her mom.ย
โStrength in vulnerability,โ the caption said, in part.ย
Hargitay later shared another Instagram post with a black-and-white image of her and her mother.
โI feel grateful, fulfilled and so proud to share this film. I never got to make a movie with my mom, and she never got to make the kind of movies she wanted to make,โ she wrote.
She added that the documentary is โa place of meetingโ for her and Mansfield.
โWords fail me to describe how meaningful it is to tell her story, my own, and ours together,โ Hargitay wrote.
Over the years, Hargitay has frequently paid tribute to Mansfield on her birthday and on the anniversary of her death. She has also reflected on how losing a parent at a young age affected her.ย
In an interview with Glamour in 2021, she spoke about how the tragedy made her grow up faster.
โI think I learned about crisis very young, and I learned very young that s— happens and thereโs no guarantees, and we keep going. And then we transform it,โ she shared. โThatโs been kind of my superpower, and the gift of having trauma early in life. Iโve spent the last 50 โ how old am I? โ 57, so 54 years sort of trying to figure out what happened and why, and what am I supposed to do with it?โ
Hargitay continued, โI clearly was in that frozen place for a lot of my childhood โ of trying to survive, actually trying to survive. My life has been a process of unpeeling the layers and trust and trusting again.โ
A year later, the actor commemorated her mom on the 55th anniversary of her death with an Instagram post. She uploaded a black-and-white photo of Mansfield on June 29, 2022, and wrote, โWe live to love you more each day.โย
On April 19, 2023, which wouldโve been Mansfieldโs 90th birthday, she posted another picture of her mom that showed her smiling in front of a cake at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in 1956. She added a similar caption that said, โHappy birthday Mama. We live to love you more each day.โ
During an appearance on TODAY on Jan. 18, 2024, Hargitay said her mom influences her style. She explained to Savannah Guthrie that the black bow in her hair was a nod to Mansfield.ย
โI just found this photo of my mother when she was 8 years old and I brought it today,โ she said before the camera showed a black-and-white portrait of a young Mansfield with two white bows in her hair.ย
โLook at her bows!โ Hargitay cheered. โAnd it just undid me, this photo of this little precious girl. And I was like, โYou are my inspiration.โโ
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