Mariska Hargitay often gets her name mispronounced. The Law & Order: SVU star said she still deals with that every day, even from family members.
During a recent guest spot on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast, Hargitay set the record straight. She explained that her first name is actually pronounced “Muh‑rish‑kuh.” The nickname comes from Maria, “little Maria.”
In Hungarian, the “ka” ending is a common affectionate suffix, and Hargitay says she got the name after her late actress mother Jayne Mansfield and her grandmother, both of whom were Hungarian and Italian.
Hargitay said a family member once called her “Muh‑ris‑kuh,” and she almost corrected him but decided to let it slide. “I keep living with it,” she said, laughing. “You go to lunch with your cousin and he still gets it wrong.”
When the question turned to her work on Law & Order: SVU, Hargitay shared a trick she uses on set. “I put ‘Marishhhhka’ on my call sheet so I don’t have to fix people every day,” she told the host. She’s even said co‑stars sometimes tease her by calling her “Muh‑ritz‑uh,” “Mar‑see‑kuh,” or “Mar‑kis‑kuh.”
Hargitay’s story isn’t unique. Actress Kirsten Dunst recently told Town & Country that she’s stopped correcting people who mispronounce her name. She confirmed that the right way to say it is “Keer‑sten” and that she simply accepts variations on set. “People from Sweden, Hungary, and anywhere else will say my name wrong,” she laughed. “At some point, you just give up.”
Both stars highlight a common Hollywood headache: first‑name mispronunciations. While Hargitay and Dunst each have their own coping strategies, the message is clear—mispronouncing a name can be frustrating, but many actors learn to go with the flow.
Source: New York Post
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