Mariska Hargitay on Law and Order SVU

[Maddy McCall]

Anyone notice that the producers seem to be attempting to give her a "softer" image?

I liked her better when she was a tough cookie with a pixie haircut. This season she has shoulder-length hair and it seems writers are going beyond what is necessary to show viewers that she is hetero (i.e. at the beginning of the show, she is called to go investigate a murder; she gets out of bed, and a guy breathlessly tells her, "You were wonderful.")

Were the show's producers afraid that we viewers might have thought she was a lesbian, and if so, so WHAT?

[roguevalley]

1. I like her pixie look best.

She's very pretty. So was her mom. Poor woman. Was a
whole lot smarter than her image.

[KCDem]

2. who cares about her sexual preference?

Geez, that never entered my mind. I missed her getting out of bed, but that might have been just a feeble attempt at better ratings. Lots of shows have been doing that lately (ER, for one... lots of bed scenes).

Hm, maybe NBC was getting hate male from freepers. ;)

[roughsatori]

3. Did you know her Mother was Jane Mansfield

And I agree, I liked the tougher androgynous version of her character, the femmed up new version does not work as well.

[nini]

4. I got a chill when I heard that..

I remember when Jayne Mansfield was decapitated in that car accident and it freaked me out.. I remember being scared as a kid seeing all that on TV and they kept talking about her kids (I don't remember if they were in the car with her or not)

anyway I'm glad she came out of that tragedy.

[Catshrink]

5. Supposedlly Mariska was in the back seat

when her mom was decapitated. She was three and didn't quite understand what was going on.

[trumad]

6. Just like Mama

[nini]

7. Thanks..that must be what I remembered..

I have vivid memories of crying for those kids.

Good God.. how horrible must that have been.

[david_vincent]

15. Jayne Mansfield supposedly had an IQ of something like 160 or 170...

and had to play dumb in order to get roles. After she was killed, a horrible exploitation documentary was made. It's available on video - I've seen it (VHS). It's one of the most abysmal, morbid, tactless things ever created - IIRC, they actually go to the cemetery, it's that kind of sick.

[Ellen Forradalom]

8. And her father is Hungarian

She speaks the language, too.

[trumad]

9. Mom and daughter

[devilgrrl]

10. Here's Mariska

[Maddy McCall]

12. She is GORGEOUS.

That is an old shot; her new look is bigger hair, much much much more makeup, more feminine clothes.

I think she is beautiful anyway, but I surely like her old look better. It wasn't a forced kind of femininity.

On edit: ZenLEfty has corrected me...evidently the shot above is newer than her old softer image. I stand corrected :-)

Either way, she is a GREAT actor.

[Maddy McCall]

11. Mom and Dad...

[ZenLefty]

13. jchild, I think that was a couple seasons ago

When the SVU series began, she was sleeping with Muntz's partner and she had longer hair. The introductory scene with her was her getting out of his bed. Now she has shorter hair (definitely sexier, if you ask me) and has long since called it off with the guy, who ended up transferring to narcotics. I think that's when they got Fin (Ice-T) as a trade, because he came from narcotics.

In the new series, I believe she still has the pixie haircut and she's always been a tough cookie. :loveya:

[Maddy McCall]

14. Good to know....

I thought I had watched the show since it first came on, and I was wondering why USA was airing a new season...my bad.

Excellent info, ZenLefty! Thanks!

She is my favorite crime show actor :loveya: