Cover Girl: Mariska Hargitay on Gotham Magazine

Actress Mariska Hargitay is gracing the cover of the March issue of Gotham magazine. Mariska is known for many things ... her role on NBC's Law and Order: SVU, being mom to one-year-old son August, her famous parents (mom was Jayne Maynesfield and dad was Mickey Hargitay). She sat down with the magazine to dish on what's going on in her life.

GOTHAM: You just signed on to do two more years of Law & Order: SVU. Your fans were elated at the news. How did you feel about it?
Mariska Hargitay: Well, you know, I went back and forth. It was really nerve-wracking. I had my son at the beginning of our hiatus, but after three months I was ready to go back. I realized I wasn’t done, and that I loved the character so much.

G: You grew up in California, but does New York now feel like home?
MH: It does! We shoot at all of these fantastic locations, so I’ve gotten to know the city. Now every street I go on, I’m like, “We shot here.” And my husband is a walker, so when we dated, we walked everywhere—and I mean, 50 blocks. That was a big deal for me, coming from California, where we don’t walk anywhere. It was our courtship. For me, it was so romantic.

G: You were 42 when you got married. Why didn’t you marry in your 20s or 30s?
MH: I just wanted to be married once, and I wanted to be really ready. I had a shrink who told me, “You have to find out where you’re going, and then find somebody to go with you.” In my 20s I was changing so much. And maybe because I lost my mother at such a young age and have always suffered so much emotionally from that, being a mother was huge to me and I didn’t want to mess it up. I think I was just so scared of being a mom that I waited until I was ready. Now I think, Thank God. The day I met Peter, I was like, That’s my husband. I’ve always been a late bloomer, but it’s always worked out for me.

G: Are you anxious about balancing motherhood and a career?
MH: August comes to work with me every day. And I feel like I’m married to the greatest guy in the world—he’s just so supportive, he’s made it work. Peter comes to me on set on Friday night at six o’clock and we start our weekend, even if I’m at work until 3 A.M.

G: You had two celebrity parents—what insight did that give you regarding raising healthy kids in a star environment?
MH: I think the most important thing is to understand that everyone is the same. Everyone deserves to be treated respectfully. Sometimes celebrities are treated as though they’re special, but I think it’s important for kids to understand that it’s temporary, that you should never, ever, ever, ever take it for granted, and that you should give back as much as you get.

When I was growing up we traveled a lot, and one of the greatest things my parents did for me was take me to live with my Hungarian family. My parents showed us that the rest of the world doesn’t live like we do in America. That really stamped me as a kid. I was like, Why are we so lucky? Why do people let the water run when other people don’t have water? Children who see that at an early age have a different understanding of humanity. I’m going to do everything I can to show August that the way some of us live in this country is not the way the rest of the world lives.

G: We were sorry to learn that your father died in September. Has grieving been different than you anticipated?
MH: A little bit. My father was sick, he had cancer, so I did a lot of my grieving before he passed away. Without a doubt, it’s the most devastating thing that’s ever happened to me, but I will say [she pauses and begins to cry, then starts speaking again in a soft, high voice]… the one thing that’s different is that I know my dad is with me all the time, and that he did everything he set out to do, so I’m OK. If I can do half the job with August that he did with me, I’ll feel like such a good parent.

G: On your website, Mariska.com, you get your fans involved with nonprofit organizations supporting women, the environment, and the world’s poor. How did you manage to use your celebrity so constructively?
MH: People like cutters, bulimics, and motherless kids started writing to me, and I just thought, Thank God the kids who are the most difficult to reach trust me, that they think I’m cool enough to talk to. And so I wondered how I could help them have their own safe place, because that’s what I want for everyone—to feel safe. I see my celebrity as an opportunity to educate and bring people together... and I’m not done with that yet.

Photos from Gotham magazine.