During a recent appearance on CNN's All There Is with Anderson Cooper podcast, the actress revealed that learning that Mickey Hargitay was not her biological father left her reeling.
"He was everything to me. So strong and so clear and so loving and so committed and determined," she said of Mickey. "Everything that he taught me about working hard and being excellent ... I've integrated into myself."
"When I found out at 25 that he was not my biological father, that undid me almost worse than losing my mom]," she admitted. "Because that's when I felt, oh, I am really alone here. Like, really alone."
After seeing a photo of her biological father, entertainer Nelson Sardelli, Mariska confronted Mickey.
View this post on Instagram"He said, 'You're my daughter. You're MY daughter!'" Mariska remembered. "And in this moment I went, 'I have to take care of you.'" Although she eventually made peace with her father, Mariska admitted she spent years struggling with feelings of abandonment.
"Nelson said to Mickey, 'You're the father of this baby, because you're the one that wakes up with her in the middle of the night. You're the one that takes care of her. You're the one that will be there when she cries,'" Mariska recalled.
"The irony is, I feel like everyone made the right decision—for me. And I have nothing but gratitude," Mariska said, adding a silver lining of sorts: "So I do look at like a gift. We all have secrets, we all have skeletons in our closet, but if we look at them with disciplined curiosity, many times we can get to the other side."
As for how things turned out, Mariska ended up with two amazing dads. In July 2025, she celebrated a "magical" Father's Day with Sardelli, now 91, according to People.
Hence then, the article about mariska hargitay says family secret undid her almost more than losing her mom was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Mariska Hargitay Says Family Secret 'Undid' Her Almost More Than Losing Her Mom )
Also on site :