Blonde ambition: Hargitay looks for ‘My Mom Jayne’

Cinema | July 29th, 2025

By Greg Carlson

Cinephiles and fans of classic midcentury Hollywood biography will find much to appreciate in Mariska Hargitay’s insightful documentary “My Mom Jayne.” As protagonist Olivia Benson on NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Hargitay holds the record for playing the longest-running primetime character on network television. Many also know her as the daughter of iconic sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay’s feature directorial debut transcends the typical movie star portrait by re-imagining the frequently mistaken public image of Mansfield and her tragically short time in the spotlight. The first-time filmmaker’s decades of experience in the industry contribute to the ease and confidence with which she pulls together a compelling story both intimately personal and openly public.

Hargitay was only three years old in the summer of 1967 when Mansfield was killed along with boyfriend Sam Brody and driver Ronnie Harrison in a car wreck. The toddler and her brothers Miklos and Zoltan were in the back seat and survived the crash. Hargitay describes having virtually no recollection of her famous mom, conceding that her strongest memory might be more imagined than concrete. She goes on to explain that her own perceptions of her mother’s popular image led her to keep any feelings about their relationship at a distance for many years. As the story unfolds, Hargitay turns to her siblings, collecting their own stories on the way to piecing together a puzzle that will culminate with a series of shocking revelations.

After Mansfield and Mariska, the most important figure in the documentary is Mansfield’s second husband Mickey Hargitay, who served as the filmmaker’s greatest supporter and champion while she was growing up. He is depicted as the one romantic partner in Mansfield’s life that would not be characterized as a bad choice. Hargitay raises many tantalizing questions throughout the film, leaving many deliberately unanswered. Why was such a smart person so unlucky in love?

The previously buried knowledge arrives in the late sections of the film and will surprise all but the most intense followers of Mansfield. Jayne’s longtime publicist and press secretary, who was more than 100 years old at the time Hargitay interviewed him for her film, wrote a bombshell tell-all in 1974 titled “The Tragic Secret Life of Jayne Mansfield” that disclosed the truth. But Hargitay’s on-camera conversations with Raymond “Rusty” Strait confront secrets and lies with a level of calm restraint rarely seen in a space that celebrates conflict and accusation, especially in the tabloid sphere. The impressive result of their meeting opens a path for Hargitay to exorcise some ghosts that have been equally shared by herself and her mother.

Hargitay uses some choice television appearance clips to dispel perceptions that Mansfield was merely a “dumb blonde” cloned in the image of Marilyn Monroe. Mansfield spoke multiple languages fluently and loved playing the piano and the violin. We come to understand the extent to which the ambitious star used her sex symbol popularity as a means to an end. I love the interview she does with Groucho Marx, who appeared in the movie version of Mansfield’s highlight “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” in a cameo role. On a 1962 episode of “Tell It to Groucho,” Mansfield responds to Groucho’s observation that the crafted fantasy image was indeed an act/facade, saying, “I think that it's like this: the public pays money at the box office to see me in a certain way.”

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