--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: TIME | Current & Breaking News | National & World Updates image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte21eae98f87c4131/69b073f2e1b133a1113a2d95/GettyImages-2265823987.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Mar 10, 2026 # Mariska Hargitay on the One Thing She Would Tell Her Late Mother Now by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/) ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer At Tuesday’s TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum, [Mariska Hargitay](https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7377898/mariska-hargitay-interview/ "undefined") was asked to reflect on what she learned from making her critically acclaimed feature directorial debut [_My Mom Jayne_](https://time.com/7296741/my-mom-jayne-review-hbo/ "undefined")—a documentary exploring the life, career, and complicated legacy of her late mother, 1950s and ’60s Hollywood starlet Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay became emotional as she gave her response. “It’s weird to have maternal feelings for your mother, your dead mother. But she was only 34 when she died,” Hargitay told TIME editorial director Lucy Feldman while onstage at the event in Los Angeles. “And I’m so lucky that I’m 62 and still here. I’m so grateful for all of it. I just wish I could’ve been friends with her.” She then revealed what she would tell Mansfield, who died in a car accident in 1967 which 3-year-old Hargitay and two of her siblings survived, if she were here today. “So much,” she said, choking up. “How much I love her, how much I admire her, and how grateful I am to be like her.” During the discussion, Hargitay also spoke about her decades-long efforts to [destigmatize sexual assault](https://time.com/5681433/law-and-order-svu-sexual-assault/ "undefined") and domestic violence, both through her iconic role as Captain Olivia Benson on NBC’s [_Law & Order: SVU_](https://time.com/7320572/law-and-order-svu-michele-fazekas/ "undefined")and her work as the founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation. “That’s one of the things I was most proud of with _SVU_,” she said. “Once it’s on TV, it’s watercooler conversation and we can talk about it. For me, I remember when I said, ‘I want people to talk about sexual assault the way they talk about breast cancer. That you’re a breast cancer survivor. And there’s no shame, there’s no stigma at all. You’re just powerful and strong and you’ve endured something.’ It’s so beautiful how we celebrate that. And that’s what I wanted.” Hargitay, who also serves as a director and executive producer on _SVU_, went on to explain why she’s currently pushing for a _SVU_ storyline exploring the critical work undertaken by [sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs)](https://time.com/7380782/the-pitt-season-2-episode-8-recap-rape-kit/ "undefined") in performing rape kit exams. “We have specific nurses to do the intake for a victim of sexual assault because that’s also a retraumatizing exam and people don’t know that,” she said. “So what we’re trying to do is figure out where the weaknesses are and how to make those things smoother or to bring up the person who’s actually doing the swab and make them the hero because they’re the ones who solved the crime. It’s about figuring out how we work together as a team.” _The TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum was presented by Target, Booking.com, Toyota, Deloitte, and Maker’s Mark._ TIME | Current & Breaking News | National & World Updates ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/women-of-the-year-forum-and-gala/2026/mariska-hargitay-my-mom-jayne-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/women-of-the-year-forum-and-gala/2026/mariska-hargitay-my-mom-jayne-interview/"},"headline":"Mariska Hargitay on the One Thing She Would Tell Her Late Mother Now","datePublished":"2026-03-10T20:18:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T14:06:55.824Z","description":"At TIME's Women of the Year Leadership Forum, Hargitay spoke about her intimate documentary about her mother and her work to destigmatize sexual assault.","url":"https://time.com/collection/women-of-the-year-forum-and-gala/2026/mariska-hargitay-my-mom-jayne-interview/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte21eae98f87c4131/69b073f2e1b133a1113a2d95/GettyImages-2265823987.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"creator":"Megan McCluskey","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte21eae98f87c4131/69b073f2e1b133a1113a2d95/GettyImages-2265823987.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/women-of-the-year/","name":"Women of the Year"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/women-of-the-year-forum-and-gala/2026/mariska-hargitay-my-mom-jayne-interview/","name":"Mariska Hargitay on the One Thing She Would Tell Her Late Mother Now"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Mariska Hargitay Wants To Normalize Conversations About Sexual Assault","description":"At Tuesday’s TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum, Mariska Hargitay was asked to reflect on what she learned from making her critically acclaimed feature directorial debut My Mom Jayne—a documentary exploring the life, career, and complicated legacy of her late mother, 1950s and ’60s Hollywood starlet Jayne Mansfield. 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