Mariska Hargitays Net Worth Reveals Her Shows Earnings

May 2024 · 5 minute read

Many fans and viewers alike have wondered what Mariska Hargitay’s net worth is or how much she earns due to her enormous popularity on ‘Law & Order’. We find out how much in this article and more…

Mariska Hargitay – The Popular ‘Law & Order’ Actress

Mariska Hargitay’s net worth has always been a topic of discussion whenever her famous show ‘Law & Order’ or herself are discussed. Her famed character Detective Olivia Benson has many followers, and just like any other show or actor, they are keen to know more about her personal life than meets the eye.

It is no news that Mariska is considered to be among the top earners when it comes to TV and TV actresses. With her debut back in September of 1999, she has survived and thrived on the show and its numerous seasons and continues to earn a hefty amount for her spectacular and widely acclaimed performances. 

Early Life

Mariska Hargitay was born in Santa Monica, California at Providence St. John’s Health Center. She is the daughter of Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay, who was Hungarian-born and Jayne Mansfield, who was an actress of the 1950 era and was considered a sex symbol. 

Raised a catholic, she has two brothers and three half-siblings. Her parents divorced in May of 1963 but after their divorce being termed invalid, later reconciled before separating again. 

In the year 1967, Mariska was involved in a fatal accident with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend and her siblings. Her mother and her boyfriend along with their driver were killed in the accident but Mariska along with her siblings survived. 

The accident has left her with a zigzag scar on her head. After the fatal accident, she was raised by her father. 

Mariska Hargitay since then has disliked comparisons with her mother and at age 18 was found to have said, “My dad was Mr. Universe, so it would be fun for me to be Miss Universe.” Her early loss of her mother has left a tragic scar on the actress. 

She termed it as, “a hole in my life that won’t ever be filled. I will never get over it. I will always be a girl who lost her mom.” Mariska Hargitay’s father died in the year 2006 from multiple myeloma at the age of 80.

Mariska Hargitay’s Career

Her early start to her career was in beauty pageants. She was crowned as Miss Beverly Hills, USA and was fourth to later Miss USA Julie Hayek in Miss California, USA. Since then, she received a variety of roles for her TV and on-screen career which landed her what would later be her epitome of an achievement.

In 1986, she was offered a one-hour drama adventure role in the series Downtown. While facing difficulties in the industry by her constant comparisons with her mother, it wasn’t until the year 1999 she landed an audition and a part for the role of a lead character in the television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. 

It is reported that when Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay auditioned for the role in the final round together, there was silence before Dick Wolf, along with officials from NBC and Studios USA agreed upon their casting choice. 

The duo was believed to have instant chemistry since their first appearance together, and were the first choices for everyone involved. 

Mariska is reported to have trained for the role by preparing as a rape crisis advocate. She portrayed the role of Detective Olivia Benson and has continued to do so since 1999. She has won an Emmy for the role and a Golden Globe, as well. 

Later in the year 2011, she also received UCLA’s TFT Distinguished Alumni Award and was honored at the school’s commencement ceremony held at the time. The known gap she took was in the year 2006 due to her pregnancy.

Mariska Hargitay’s Salary

The show has run for more than 22 seasons and not only that, but it has managed to bag more than an astonishing 30 Emmys (Mariska winning an Outstanding Lead Actress in 2006, becoming the first main cast member to do so). 

In the latter part of the year 2012, Mariska was reported to have been earning $400,000-$500,000 per episode. 

It was rumored that they would be replaced since the actors also demanded a percentage of the show’s earnings as others had done so, but soon had their contracts renewed. Mariska Hargitay was also awarded the 2,511th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was placed next to her mother’s. 

Forbes reported in the year 2018 that Hargitay was making $13 million for the 19th season of Law & Order: SVU. Since the season comprised 24 episodes, the total season tally comes to around $540,000 per episode. 

A significant raise than her earlier reported earnings, this made her a potential second highest earning actress on the television screen of that year.

Philanthropic Work 

The actress has also been involved in various organizations such as Joyful Heart Foundation since the year 2004, which has been also conferred with Joe Biden, US President. The organization is about ending domestic violence and real-life sexual assaults and their survivors.

Mariska Hargitay’s Net Worth

There have been numerous calculations of Mariska’s net worth, but according to Celebrity Net Worth, she is reported to have a worth of $100 million, an impressive amount. This averages her to receive $540,000 an episode, which is consistent with earlier calculations. 

Since she has also appeared in cameo performances in other Law & Order spin offs, she must have received more compensation.

In the year 2010, Mariska revealed she was in debt. “I had a house and car I didn’t want to lose and I had a lot of credit card debt.” Mariska also said she had to ask her then-boyfriend for financial help. 

“When we broke up, he said I owed him 60 grand. I’m a payer-backer. So as soon as I could, I paid him off. Now I have learned to hang on to it. I have a nest egg, and I don’t buy above my means.”

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t7XZmpqaZpOkunC5wKugrKORYrWivsaiq5qxXaOytXnWqKmtoF8%3D