Mariska Hargitay delivers touching speech about Jane Fonda: ‘You invoked my mother’

Mariska Hargitay paid homage to her late mother, Jayne Mansfield, in a touching way.

Hargitay was honored with the Sisterhood Is Powerful Award at the 2023 Women’s Media Center Awards on Oct. 19.

During her speech at the award ceremony, Hargitay shared an emotional sentiment about her late mother, who died in a car accident in 1967 at age 34 when the actor was just 3-years-old.

After reflecting on a moment from the red carpet when her name was called out by photographers alongside Jane Fonda's, she said to Fonda, “I thank you for that moment.”

“And I thank you for being able to stand next to you. And I also feel that you invoked my mother here tonight,” she added. “And I bring her in here, in this moment, because I think she would love this night.”

Prior to receiving her award, Hargitay spoke to People about several of her greatest influences.

At the event, the “Law & Order: SVU” star said that “it was a lot to take this in” after she was recognized for the award by the organization’s co-founders Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan.

“Because these are my mentors, these are the people that I go, ‘Wow.’ The people that made change,” she explained. “I mean, are you kidding me? Gloria? She started a revolution and changed our planet. And then our paths crossed and it feels like fate, but they’re like my work mothers.”

The 59-year-old actor continued, adding, “They’re the advocate in Mariska, the Olivia Benson [in Mariska]. It’s RBG, Jane, Gloria, it’s, for me, Ellen Burstyn. There’s these people in my life that are of an age.”

Burstyn portrays the role of Bernadette Stabler, the mother of Christopher Meloni’s character Elliot Stabler in “SVU” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” often starring opposite Hargitay’s character, Olivia Benson.

“I lost my mother when I was so young, so it’s very sacred,” Hargitay continued, referring to her relationship with the women. “I think it’s sacred.”

In the decades since the death of her mother, Hargitay has shared touching tributes to Mansfield, including a sweet nod to her “mama,” who she credited for her supermodel walk.

On what would have been Mansfield’s 90th birthday in April 2023, Hargitay also shared a black and white photo of her mom on Instagram to pay homage to the late Hollywood star.

“Happy birthday Mama,” she wrote in the caption. “We live to love you more each day.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com