Who is Nelson Sardelli? All about Mariska Hargitay’s biological father after shocking family secret reveal

Mariska Hargitay has been making headlines after the revelation about her biological father, Nelson Sardelli, during the premiere of her deeply personal documentary, My Mom Jayne.

The film made its debut at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2025 and marks her directorial debut. It is based on her mother, Jayne Mansfield, and was featured in the Cannes Classics section. During the premiere, she revealed that her biological father is not Mickey Hargitay but a former Las Vegas entertainer named Nelson Sardelli.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, Hargitay’s mother passed away in a car accident at the age of 34 in June 1967. She was only three years old at that time. Her mother had a brief affair with Nelson Sardelli in 1963, according to a report in the El Paso Times. However, she reconciled with her husband, Mickey, several months before Hargitay’s birth in 1964.

Nelson Sardelli is a singer, comedian, and entertainer of Italian descent, best known for his dynamic career in Las Vegas, according to a report in US Weekly. He also featured in Hargitay’s documentary along with his two daughters.

Here is everything you need to know about the Las Vegas entertainer.

All you need to know about Nelson Sardelli

Nelson Sardelli was born on September 20, 1934, in Brazil and is currently 90 years old. In addition to being a singer and a comedian, he is also an actor known for films such as Myra Breckinridge (1970), The Professionals, Chilly Dogs (2001), and Fake-Out (1982).

According to a report in Norm Clarke's Vegas Diary, Nelson Sardelli worked for General Motors in Brazil. His parents moved here in the early 1920s in search of a better life. Sardelli then immigrated to the United States decades later, eventually settling in Las Vegas in 1965. He told the outlet in 2019,

“I came to the United States in 1956, to Pontiac, Michigan, because in Brazil I worked for General Motors, but they were laying off people all over Michigan. I could tell you how many (German-made) Opels were in Brazil at any given time.”

In the following years, he enrolled in the Army and at one point taught the soldiers to dance by the numbers in a USO in Fort Gordon, Ga. He then worked in construction and realised it wasn’t his dream job. He was then hired to sing at one of the open mic places, where he earned $27.50.

He ventured as a stand-up comedian when he was in his 20s. He then landed roles as an actor and thrived in the entertainment industry. Sardelli added that he worked steadily until the early 2000s, after which his performances became less frequent.

In her documentary, Hargitay revealed that she first learned of her father when she was 25, and she then confronted her father, Mickey, about it. Mickey insisted that he was her father and they never spoke of it again, per a report in Daily Beast. But, when she turned 30 she visited Sardelli for his performance in the Atlantic City.

She described that he was emotional and told her,

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“I’ve been waiting 30 years for this moment.”

According to Daily Beast, the 61-year-old actress’ father, Mickey Hargitay, was a Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder who was married to her mother, Jayne Mansfield, from 1958 to 1964. He passed away on September 14, 2006, per his IMDb profile.

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