Photo: Getty Images
Mariska Hargitay has been a mainstay on television for decades but some people still have a difficult time pronouncing her name correctly. Now, she's setting the record straight.
During a recent appearance on Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast, the Law & Order: SVU star explained the proper way to say her first name is "Muh-rish-kuh," per Page Six.
"I get called 'Muh-ritz-uh,' 'Mar-see-kuh,' 'Mar-kis-kuh,'" she said, adding she even changed her name to "Marishhhhka" on the SVU call sheet to make sure everyone on set is on the same page about how to say her name, though her costars will occasionally still tease her with one of the wrong pronunciations.
She also revealed the special meaning behind her name, which actually means "Little Maria."
"In Hungarian, the 'ka' or 'ke' at the end of the name is just like a little endearment," she said. "So the name is actually Maria after my grandmother, both of them, Hungarian and Italian."
Hargitay, the daughter of late Hollywood actress Jayne Mansfield, said she "still [lives] with" the mispronunciation in her day-to-day life, not just professionally but even from some members of her own family.
"I had a lunch yesterday for my sister and my cousin was there," she said, adding, "I've known him since 1994 and he kept calling me 'Muh-ris-kuh.'"
Hargitay is the latest famous face to break down the correct way to say her name. Earlier this year, Bring It On star Kirsten Dunst shared how everyone has been pronouncing her name incorrectly for years while Lindsay Lohan previously shocked fans when introducing herself in a different way then fans were used to.