# On HBO/Max My Mom Jayne by Mariska Hargitay
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** hbomax-wb-dc, documentary-bio
**Created:** [June 29, 2025, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272 "2025-06-29T22:06:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2025, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/1 "2025-06-29T22:06:07Z")
Released June 27
Mariska Hargitay was only three when her mother Jayne Mansfield died in a car wreck. She has no personal memories of her mother. But the public persona was everywhere when Mariska Hargitay grew up.
It’s one of the most compelling and personal documentaries that I’ve ever seen.
Jayne Mansfield was a carefully crafted character created based on Jayne’s interpretation of Marilyn Monroe. Even Jayne’s public voice was artifical and affected.
Mariska’s older siblings knew and remember the real Jayne when she was at home. They appear in the documentary and discuss Jayne with Mariska.
Mickey Hargitay had already divorced Jayne. But he took in the children after the accident and provided a loving home. Imho it was more stable and loving. Jayne was drinking heavily and struggling with her career. Jayne was in abusive relationships just prior to her death.
There is a startling 2nd part of the story that I won’t spoil. Maybe later in the thread we can discuss after others have watched the documentary.
> **[My Mom Jayne](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Mom_Jayne)**
>
> My Mom Jayne is a 2025 documentary film directed by Mariska Hargitay. The film examines the life of Hargitay's late mother, Jayne Mansfield. The film had its world premiere in the Cannes Classics section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2025, where it was nominated for the L'Œil d'or. It received a limited theatrical release on June 20, 2025, and was released on HBO and Max on June 27, 2025.
> Director Mariska Hargitay was only three years old when her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield,...
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### Author:  [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/2 "2025-06-29T22:57:03Z")
I was fascinated by this story. I thought the documentary was extremely personal for all involved (and so, so sad) but also still respectful to Jayne’s memory. I wish she had lived long enough to fulfill her dream of being famous for her talents and intelligence and not just her persona.
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### Author:  [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2025, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/3 "2025-07-01T14:49:48Z")
I watched this last night and was really impressed with how well done it was. I didn’t know a lot about Jayne Mansfield before other than she was one of the famous blond bombshells so a lot of this was new information to me. But the format of a younger sibling trying to get a sense of her mom and relying on her family to provide a lot of that - what an incredibly intimate and vulnerable experience. It says a lot about how much trust there is among the family members to be willing to speak like that in front of a camera, and it creates a powerful, immersive film.
Mariska Hargitay did not shy away from or try to downplay her mother’s faults but did a great job of keeping those things in the broader context of everything else that was going on. And the ripple effects that went through the rest of the family…
I don’t want to be the first to add spoilers, but Mariska proved to be a good interviewer. She wasn’t afraid to ask some really difficult questions and then held their feet to the fire when they tried to dodge answering or downplay their actions.
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### Author:  [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/4 "2025-07-01T16:52:42Z")
I very much enjoyed it. I’ve been a Jayne fan for years. The Girl Can’t Help It and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter are great films. She was always the down market Marilyn and that made her fun. One thing that struck me was the reminder of how patronizing the culture was in her day. They kept bringing up the dumb blonde image and tried to pretend they were saying she was above it, but it never felt sincere. She was always a joke to the interviewers.
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/5 "2025-07-01T18:54:09Z")
Good documentary.
Mariska did a good job.
I was very surprised how musical Jayne was. Played a few instruments.
Stunningly beautiful face.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2025, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/6 "2025-07-05T04:41:51Z")
TIL
Groucho Marx was a mensch. Jack Parr was a dick.
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### Author:  [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2025, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/7 "2025-07-05T15:37:10Z")
I had not known that Mariska Hargitay was Jayne Mansfield’s daughter until Hargitay was on Steven Colbert’s show to promote this. It’s definitely on my watch list.
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### Author:  [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-hbo-max-my-mom-jayne-by-mariska-hargitay/1020272/8 "2025-07-05T15:52:33Z")
I remember when Jayne Mansfield died. I was a kid, but it was such a gruesome death, and the detail of the kids being asleep in the back seat seared the incident in my memory. So, the basic story was known to me, but this documentary forced me to see through those images to the real people behind them. I agree with everyone here. This was an intense, brave, and well produced doc.
I was “spoiled” so I knew the surprise, but that whole segment was handled so well, and the other people involved were such good people, I still found it intensely involving.
And, yeah, Jack Paar was a real dick (the half sister’s poem was _great_).