THE JAYNE MANSFIELD NOBODY KNEW

HER ACTRESS DAUGHTER, MARISKA HARGITAY, OPENS UP

Gorgeous Jayne Mansfield’s life was brutally cut short at age 34, leaving her five children – including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay – motherless.

Today, Mariska, 57, says she knows her mum in an entirely different way than the rest of the world – and it’s not as a blonde bombshell!

“Being a wife and mother is my life, and that’s what gives me the most joy,” says Mariska, who has three children with husband Peter Hermann, an actor and producer. “I understand [my mother] in a way that gives me peace.”

The actress also reveals Jayne was actually the polar opposite of her sultry image!

“My mother was this amazing, beautiful, glamorous sex symbol – but people didn’t know that she played the violin and had a 160 IQ and had five kids and loved dogs,” Mariska explains. “She was just so ahead of her time. She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life, and I think I share that with her.”

Often referred to as Hollywood’s “smartest dumb blonde”, Jayne played the viola, violin and piano, and spoke five languages: English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.