Mariska Hargitay Reveals Nelson Sardelli Is Her Biological Father in New HBO Documentary

Mariska Hargitay Reveals Nelson Sardelli Is Her Biological Father In New Hbo Documentary

In her brand-new documentary My Mom Jayne, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week, Mariska pulls back the curtain on a family secret she’s kept under wraps for over 30 years.

Mickey Hargitay — the iconic bodybuilder and ex-husband of Jayne Mansfield — is NOT her biological father.

Nope, Mariska’s real biological dad is none other than Nelson Sardelli, a Brazilian-born Las Vegas entertainer who dated Mansfield in the mid-1960s. Sardelli is now 90 — and yes, still as charming as ever.

According to People, Mariska learned the truth when she was 25. And yep, she kept it secret until now. Talk about top-tier emotional restraint.

“It was the kind of thing that rocks your world,” she says in the film. But don’t worry, this isn’t some gloomy tell-all. Mariska’s doc is a love letter to her mom — blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield — and a celebration of finally living her truth.

She even reconnected with Sardelli and met her half-sisters. “We’re a family now,” she says. Heart = melted.

The SVU star co-directed the doc, which dives into her mom’s chaotic rise to fame, tragic death, and all the messy, juicy in-betweens. Think old-school Hollywood glitz meets raw emotional therapy.

Vanity Fair says Mariska describes her younger self as “living a lie” for decades — playing the part of Mickey’s daughter when the truth was way more complicated.

The doc hits Tribeca Film Festival on June 13, then lands in select theaters June 20, and premieres on HBO June 27.