"My Mom Jayne" with Mariska Hargitay

In 1967, 3-year-old Mariska Hargitay — now, an Emmy-winning actor known to millions as Captain Olivia Benson on the long-running TV series “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” — was in a terrible car accident. Her mother — the Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield — and two others were killed instantly. The accident not only took the life of her mother but prevented Mariska from having any lasting memories of her.   “My Mom Jayne” is Mariska’s touching and winding documentary journey to learn about her mother’s life and to confront some of the secrets of her own story as well. Mariska joins Ken on the podcast to talk about Jayne’s breakthrough as a young actress and the blonde bombshell image that prevented her mother from being treated as the serious actress she always aspired to be. Through difficult conversations with Mariska’s siblings and trips to a long neglected family storage facility, a more complete portrait of Jayne, the actress and mother, begins to emerge. At this point in the film, an even more deeply buried story — this one about Mariska’s father — takes over. The power of “My Mother Jayne” lies in Mariska’s willingness to reclaim her own story, wherever it may lead. “My Mom Jayne” is streaming on HBO Max. The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix. Follow: @therealmariskahargitay on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and X