When people hear the name Jayne Mansfield, several words or phrases probably instantly come to mind.
Actress. Sex symbol. Blonde bombshell. Smartest dumb blonde. 40-21-35.
Mansfield, an actress in the spotlight for much of the 50s and 60s, was a major figure in Hollywood. Her personal life received perhaps even more attention than her career, with multiple marriages, the occasional affair and her five children. Her children include her youngest daughter, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star, Mariska Hargitay.
On June 27, Mariska released a documentary about her mother’s life, titled My Mom, Jayne. The documentary explores the life of Jayne Mansfield, from her humble beginnings in Pennsylvania and Texas, to the beginnings of her career, to her marriages and her children, and ultimately, Mansfield’s untimely death in 1967 and the legacy that lives on in her children and grandchildren.
A life explored
Mariska said of the film that it was a chance for her to learn about her mother. Mariska was only 3-years-old when Jayne died (Mariska was in the backseat of the car that wrecked; she and her two brothers survived). Thus, Mariska has no memory of her mother.
“It’s a search for the mother I never knew, an integration of a part of myself I’d never owned, and a reclaiming of my mother’s story and my own truth,” Mariska said of the documentary.
Mariska delves into the complete story of Jayne, peeling back many of the myths and assumptions about her mother. Indeed, the documentary gives viewers an in-depth look at Jayne Mansfield’s life, through the eyes of her older children. The documentary shows the human side of Jayne and how what you saw on camera was not necessarily what you got in person.
A journey of her own
Aside from telling Jayne’s story, the documentary goes into great detail about Mariska’s story. For more than three decades Mariska maintained a secret about her beginnings.
Growing up, Mariska had one remaining biological parent: Mickey Hargitay. Mickey remarried shortly after Jayne’s death and raised his and Jayne’s children with his wife, Ellen Siano.
In her mid-twenties, Mariska learned the truth: her mother had been in a relationship with another man as Mickey and Jayne’s marriage broke down. This man, Nelson Sardelli, is Mariska’s biological father. Nelson and Jayne broke up while Jayne was pregnant with Mariska and upon her return to the U.S., Jayne and Mickey briefly reconciled. Thus, Mariska grew up knowing Mickey as her father.
When she discovered the truth, Mariska had an identity crisis.
“It was like the floor fell out from underneath me,” she said in the documentary. “Like my infrastructure dissolved.”
Mariska confronted Mickey about the revelation. He denied it severely. Mariska soon realized how negatively it was affecting Mickey, so she decided to let it go, and never brought it up to him again.
Mariska later met Nelson when she was 30. They ended up talking for hours, though Mariska made sure Nelson knew that Mickey was her father. Luckily, Nelson is man enough to understand his place in Mariska’s life.
Similar to her own character
Although not addressed in the film, the revelation of Mariska’s biological father is somewhat similar to that of her character on SVU.
At the start of the series, Olivia Benson knows her father merely as the man who raped her mother Serena. Being the product of a rape prompted Olivia to work in the special victims unit.
During season eight, Olivia delves further into her past when she runs a DNA test. She learns she has a half-brother named Simon. She meets Simon, who has a bit of a criminal path of his own, and Olivia learns about her father. Simon describes a decent man who loved his family, which is unsettling to Olivia, given her connection to the man.
By the time season eight filmed, Mariska had known about her parentage for about 20 years. She had met her biological father about 12 years earlier. It begs the question of how much acting Mariska had to do while filming those scenes where her character learns her past.
One of a kind documentary
The exploration of both Jayne’s life and Mariska’s makes the documentary a unique experience.
The stories unfold together, and it peels back much of the mystery surrounding the family and the legacy of Jayne Mansfield.
Several commentators of the film have pointed out how the documentary made them think of their own families as they viewed the documentary. Mariska pointed this out during an interview on ABC’s The View.
“That is so deeply meaningful to me,” Mariska said when Sara Haines spoke of people being able to relate to the documentary with their own families. “You think, ‘Oh, it’s a story about a Hollywood icon living in the 50s’ you think it’s such a specific story. But what I know, and what I hope this movie provides, is that out of the personal comes the universal.”
Ultimately, the documentary shows us that family can be many things. It can be loving. It can be messy and complicated. There can be many branches of one’s family tree. But ultimately what matters most is the love.
My Mom Jayne streams exclusively on HBO Max.
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