My Mom Jayne

• Directed by Mariska Hargitay
• May 17, 2025 (Cannes) / June 20, 2025 (US) / June 27, 2025 (HBO and MAX)

An examination of the life and legacy of Jayne Mansfield by her daughter Mariska Hargitay.

My Mom Jayne is Mariska Hargitay’s personal journey to better know a mother that is almost a virtual stranger to her because of how young she was at the time of her mother’s death. Hargitay interviews her siblings (never knew she had any) and mixes it with old footage of her mother that ranges from home movies to public footage. It gets into the large than life image of Mansfield while also portraying her as a mother figure. There’s a bit of melancholy throughout the whole presentation. There is a sadness of being so close yet so far with something missing in Hargitay’s life because of her mother being ultimately a stranger.

It moves from a personal journey for Mariska Hargitay to a family journey with her siblings. Despite involving a celebrity that is examining her celebrity mother, it feels very down to Earth. Hargitay never strays into mythmaking or elevating this into trying to make the film a grand or unique journey. She maintains an almost humble tone throughout.

An interesting yet not unexpected reveal is the brains behind the sexpot image. Mansfield could play instruments and spoke a few languages while also being quite learned. Using the image of Marilyn Monroe as her template proved to be a bit of a trap for her. She had a very public persona that was unlike what she had at home. She was a much more complicated person than she portrayed. This documentary does a good job of showing you how complex she was outside of her sex appeal.

There are a few interesting revelations in this with one that belongs on Maury, yet it never gets a salacious treatment. Mickey Hargitay IS NOT Mariska Hargitay’s father. This gets hinted at via early footage of a very young Mariska getting referred to as ‘Maria.’ Turns out she was fathered by Nelson Sardelli with Mickey knowing this but going through great lengths to keep the fact from her. Why can be easily picked up by the viewer.

To her credit Mariska appears to have a positive relationship with her biological father and two half siblings whom all get interviewed. There doesn’t appear to be any bitterness on the behalf of Hargitay towards ANYBODY involved in that messy bit or over anything making this a very pleasant watch. She’s more irritated at a few things. She’s irritated that she couldn’t discuss her parentage with Mickey Hargitay or that her mother wasn’t around. But it’s not anger or anything along those lines. Mariska Hargitay is more of a daughter seeking to know someone she never did.

You get a feel for all involved using multiple personal recollections. This looks at the image of Mansfield as a person and as a celebrity who is not necessarily happy with how she became a celebrity. She had dreams of being a serious actress and it was working on changing that at the time of her death.

By the end you’re feeling a little heartbroken and a little happy. This tugs at the emotions. Who hasn’t at one point or another gone through old family photos or family keepsakes and maybe seen something they haven’t seen in a while or didn’t know was still around. There’s a lot of this documentary that comes back to a storage unit that the family owns. They’re a weirdly normal bunch despite the Hollywood connections. And they grew up with a zoo! 

I can’t find anything too wrong with us. It is the right length and doesn’t waste any time. It’s all about telling a story. There’s never a lag or a sense of padding to anything. Skillfully there are hints preceding the big reveal that say SOMETHING is coming but never hints at how big it is. A bit of storytelling rather than being strictly informational.

My Mom Jayne is an emotional and excellent documentary about the icon and the daughter seeking to know her mother. It’s emotional and at points poignant and never dull.