In 1967, tragedy struck when Jayne Mansfield died in a car accident alongside Samuel S. Brody, her "lawyer and companion," and their driver, Ronald B. Harrison (per History). Their car struck the back of a trailer truck, killing all the adults in the car instantly, and leaving behind three children who were also present at the time of the accident. Mariska Hargitay and brothers Zoltan and Mickey Jr. survived the horrifying experience. The tragedy set a legal precedent requiring trucks to have "Mansfield bars" installed, which prevent cars from going under the trailer when similar accidents occur (via the Mirror).
"I feel like it ultimately made me into the person I am today," Hargitay said, per Redbook Magazine. "I understand the journey of life. I had to go through what I did to be here." At the time of her mother's death, Hargitay was only three. She doesn't remember the accident, but the actor was left with a visible reminder: a distinctive facial scar.
Dubbing it "the scar of [her] soul," Hargitay wears the scar proudly in remembrance of the mother she never truly knew.
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