Over more than two decades of playing Captain Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, actress Mariska Hargitay has kept audiences rapt with her ability to balance the character’s vulnerability and strength through wrenching situations. The Emmy-winner has portrayed Benson for a record-breaking 26 years, and SVU is the longest running primetime drama series of all time. As the director of the new documentary My Mom Jayne, Hargitay delves into the complicated and tragically short life of her mother Jayne Mansfield. The film also explores the secrets that have been both kept and discovered by her family through the years.
Hargitay tells The Treatment that making the film has been a cathartic experience for her. Plus, she shares her hope that people see themselves and their families in her story, and insists that forgiveness is the only way forward.