The daughter of screen siren Jayne Mansfield and muscular sometime movie actor Mickey Hargitay, Mariska Hargitay worked in small roles in the 1980s then found her career as a supporting player in the 90s. Hargitay went from the short-lived “Prince Street” (NBC, 1997) to the pilot for “Cracker” (ABC, 1997) to a recurring role on the hit NBC series “ER” (1997-98). Usually playing characters with an air of toughness, she found her first series work as a teen parolee desperate to be accepted in the CBS series “Downtown” (1986). Two years later, Hargitay did a stint on “Falcon Crest” (CBS, 1988) as wily Carly Fixx.
