Tribeca Film Festival Review: ‘My Mom Jayne’ from Mariska Hargitay

My Mom Jayne

Mariska Hargitay writes and directs an emotional exploration of her mother Jayne Mansfield who died at 34 when Hargitay was three years old. Hargitay, the actress who plays Det. Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, never liked her mother’s image as a model and blonde bombshell of the 1950s and ‘60s. The film, which screened in the “Spotlight Documentary” section at Tribeca Film Festival 2025 in its North American premiere, reconciles Hargitay and her memory of her mother, whom she barely remembers. More than a biopic, Hargitay’s emotional work resonates because it discloses family secrets and uncovers truths never before revealed.

Mariska’s Siblings

Cobbling together live interviews with her sister Jayne Marie Mansfield, brothers Mickey Jr. and Zoltan Hargitay and others, Mariska tackles the mysteries about her mother. For example, Mariska never understood why her mother used the blonde bombshell persona in public. She thought her mom’s voice sounded fake. And she despised and refused to read or listen to any tabloid gossip about her mom. In effect she didn’t know who her mom was, nor did she take the time to find out. Furthermore, she didn’t want to have the same type of career as her mom.

In the film Hargitay poignantly delves into these former judgments she had about her mom. And finally, she discloses a 30-year secret that resolves into a happy ending.

Confronting Her Past

When she finally decides to face her past, she uncovers a new perspective on her mother. Jayne Mansfield played the classical violin and piano, and Hartigay includes interesting clips showing her competence at both. An additional clip reveals Mansfield interviewed by Groucho Marx who discusses her intelligence and the purpose of her blonde bombshell image.

Her older siblings express what they remember about their mom, speaking candidly and emotionally in interviews and chat sessions with Hargitay. The process bonds her deeply with her siblings. Together they look over posters, scrapbooks of old photographs, and other memorabilia from a storage bin that hadn’t been opened in decades. From this material they learn details about their mom’s career, marriages, and films, and their lives with her. For example, they learn how Jayne Mansfield cut out her first husband Paul Mansfield in pictures where they were photographed together. Mariska humorously shows Jayne appearing alone in numerous ripped photographs.

Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together

Hargitay finally articulates latent, unspoken feelings she could never express. For example, she always felt apart from her brothers and mother, though she felt close to her dad Mickey Hargitay, a body builder. Putting the clues together she discovers reasons why she experienced feelings of isolation as a very young child.

As her siblings share insights and memories, they find a way toward healing the trauma they experienced during and after the tragic car accident that killed their mother, her chauffeur, and her lawyer boyfriend. Importantly, Hargitay dispels myths about Jayne Mansfield’s death. For example, she wasn’t decapitated. And Zoltan saved Mariska’s life by telling their rescuers that Mariska was missing. They found her under a front seat, injured but alive.

Reveals

After the introduction to her conflict about her mom and revisiting the “pink palace” where Jayne Mansfield once lived, now in rubble, Mariska familiarizes the audience with the woman she never understood. Chronicling Mansfield’s childhood and arrival in Hollywood, her marriages to first husband Paul and second husband Mickey, the film reveals Jayne as a multifaceted woman – a wife and loving mother who also won a Golden Globe for the film Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? After a stint in Hollywood that ended in B movies, Mansfield attempted to recharge her career.

Hargitay moves on to an unexpected turning point with the unveiling of a decades-old secret. Our shock mirrors the actress’s when she initially found out. Investigating “the gossip” she discovered that Nelson Sardelli, not Mickey Hargitay, was her birth father. During a separation from Mickey, Jayne had a whirlwind affair in Europe with Sardelli. Jayne leaves to return to Mickey, and gives birth to Mariska, who keeps the secret of her birth father’s identity and the existence of her stepsisters until the film reveals the truth.

As a journey of redemption, reconnection, and truth, My Mom Jayne satisfies on many levels. The documentary screens on HBO on June 27.