Mariska Hargitay Once Shared She Still Worried About Being Broke Even While Doing ‘Law & Order’
Law & Order SVU gave Mariska Hargitay the financial security many aspiring actors dream of. But she confided that she still worried about being broke even after nabbing a steady-paying and lucrative gig.
Why Mariska Hargitay still worries about being financially secure
It took a while before Hargitay could make more than a comfortable living doing what she enjoyed. Hargitay didn’t have a stable income as an actor until she was 35. Up until then, much of her years as an aspiring actor was full of financial uncertainty.
“I had a house and car I didn’t want to lose, and I had a lot of credit card debt,” she once told Good Housekeeping.
It was noted that a boyfriend helped pay her bills for a while until she had to reimburse him after the relationship ended.
“When we broke up, he said I owed him 60 grand,” Hargitay said. “I’m a payer-backer. So as soon as I could, I paid him off, but now I have learned to hang on to it. I have a nest egg, and I don’t buy above my means.”
Even after years of being well into her Law & Order success, Hargitay confided that she still worried about her finances. Especially since she was more used to being poor than she was to being financially well off.
“I constantly worry about money. I make a lot now, but I don’t feel that way because I was poor and had no money for a lot longer than I’ve had it,” she once told More (via OK). “As an actor, if this show ends next year, then what? As an aging woman, then what? I’m saving money to live on for the future. There are not that many roles for women, and I’ve been blessed with one of the great ones.”
Mariska Hargitay’s ‘Law & Order’ role has been rewarding in other ways
Hargitay asserted that the rewards she reaped from Dick Wolf’s creation weren’t just in cash. She found the show fulfilling in other more spiritual ways as well. It reaffirmed her philosophy of never giving up, a piece of advice from her late father. She took a chance on a show that might not have had the same kind of staying power as the original Law & Order. Even her friends were surprised by Hargitay’s involvement in the series.
“They said, ‘I don’t know how you got this,'” Hargitay said. “I was a total chicken.”
Hargitay grew close to her role as Olivia Benson over the course of the series. Her character, a detective specializing in crimes of sexual assault, influenced her life in very personal ways. It gave her the resources and mentality needed to start the Joyful Heart Foundation. The organization was created to help victims of abuse. Olivia Benson also gave Hargitay the tools she needed to be a good mother.
“[Playing Olivia Benson] fulfills me as an artist and rewards me even more as a human being. It is powerful and life-affirming to extend my hand and my heart to those who are in need,” she said. “You realize when you become a mom that everyone you look at is somebody’s kid. Caring for August makes me even more committed to helping others.”
Mariska Hargitay still fears failure
Despite all of her success, Hargitay still worries that everything she’s accomplished can be taken away in a second. But she also asserted that the joys of parenthood have helped her deal with those fears.
“It’s why being a mother is so loaded. A friend said to me recently, ‘You’re a really great mother,’ and I said, ‘What?’ I feel like I’ve been preparing all my life, but I want to do all of it right,” she once told Redbook.
