Mariska Hargitay has revealed a long-held family secret: the truth about her biological father.

The actress, whose mother was Jayne Mansfield, had believed for years that her father was Mickey Hargitay, the Hungarian bodybuilding champion who became an actor. He married Mansfield in 1956.

When Mariska was only 3, she and her mother were involved in a tragic car accident that killed Mansfield instantly. Mickey raised their three children after Mansfield died.

“He was my everything, my idol. He loved me so much, and I knew it,” she told Vanity Fair. “I also knew something else — I just didn’t know what I knew.”

In fact, she didn’t know the truth until she was in her 20s. During a brief time in 1963-64, Mansfield filed for divorce from Mickey and began dating Italian entertainer Nelson Sardelli. However, Mickey and Mansfield reconciled months before Mariska’s birth.

Mariska had always believed something...