My Mom Jayne with Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic and Lisa Cortés (Ep. 612)

In this deeply personal episode of The Director’s Cut, acclaimed actress and director Mariska Hargitay opens up about her documentary My Mom Jane, a heartfelt exploration of her mother, Hollywood icon Jane Mansfield, whom she never knew personally. Hargitay recounts how the film evolved from a private emotional journey into a public act of healing and truth-telling, fueled by years of therapy, storytelling experience from her work on Law & Order: SVU, and a pivotal connection with historian Ron Chernow. Through intimate interviews, rare archival footage, and a collaborative partnership with producer Trish Adlasic and editor J.D. Marlowe, Hargitay confronts her childhood shame around her mother’s voice and persona, ultimately finding profound connection and self-acceptance. The documentary becomes a powerful testament to vulnerability, legacy, and the transformative power of storytelling as a tool for grief, identity, and family reconciliation. Hargitay reflects on how the process reshaped her sense of self, allowing her to embrace her Hungarian and Italian heritage with pride, unburden herself from lifelong feelings of abandonment, and honor both her biological and adoptive fathers. She emphasizes that vulnerability is not weakness but strength, and that storytelling creates community and healing. With support from HBO and a team committed to ethical, patient filmmaking, the film became a labor of love that was refined over years—revising the edit multiple times to ensure authenticity and emotional truth. The episode concludes with a celebration of the film’s impact, its resonance with audiences, and the enduring power of documentary to connect us across loss, memory, and identity.