Mariska Hargitay’s Three Children Were by Her Side When She Revealed This Decades-Old Family Secret
Mariska Hargitay just dropped a major bombshell about her family, all while being supported by her rarely-seen three children. In case you missed it, on May 17, Hargitay made her directorial debut, My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay, at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival; and her kids supported her on the red carpet; and were by her side when she revealed Mickey Hargitay isn’t her biological father.
For those who don’t know, Mariska and Peter Hermann, with whom she’s been married to since 2004, have three children together. They welcomed their son August in June 2006, and adopted two more children named Amaya, born in April 2011, and Andrew, also born in 2011. And all of them came to support Mariska (and did so in style)!
You can see the photos below:
Mariska looked sensational as she channeled old Hollywood glamour in a dark pink and black sequin gown with a black silk Bardot neckline. Her daughter Amaya twinned with her in a sparkling black dress, and her sons, as well as her husband.
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen the family of five on the red carpet, and we adore the fact that they were all there for Mariska’s big moment!
“Tonight I’m celebrating the power that film has for me to remember — somebody I didn’t have the good fortune to know or grow up with,” she told the crowds at the festival via Hello, also revealing the bombshell: her biological father is not Mickey. Her biological father is a former Las Vegas entertainer named Nelson Sardelli.
She did tell Vanity Fair about the bombshell, saying she found out at 25 years old, and at 30, she introduced herself to Sardelli, to which he said, “I’ve been waiting 30 years for this moment.” She added ahead of the premiere, “I grew up where I was supposed to, and I do know that everyone made the best choice for me. I’m Mickey Hargitay’s daughter — that is not a lie.”
Before you go, check out these celebrities who have opened up about completing their families through adoption.