Mariska Hargitay Leaves NBC Appearances When Father Falls Ill

Burbank, Calif. (August 10, 2006) — Golden Globe winning “Law & Order: SVU” actress abruptly abandoned her scheduled appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”and Access Hollywood yesterday, due to a family emergency.

Access has learned that her dad, former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay, is ill.

Jay Leno addressed her absence on air, saying, “Interesting evening at “The Tonight Show” tonight. Mariska Hargitay from ‘Law & Order,’ was a guest here and she had to go, she had a family emergency. We do a show like this every day, I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often, but she had a family emergency and she had to go.”

Hargitay, 42, just had her first child with husband Peter Hermann this past summer.

Her parents are Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay and the actress Jayne Mansfield.

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