Mariska Hargitay Quotes

I'm living every ten-year-old boy's fantasy. The other day, Chris and I had this big scene where we had to pull out our guns, and I was thinking, 'Here we are in New York City - a place where every actor wants to be - and we are literally playing cops and robbers. How great is that?'

Being fearless means busting down those walls of fear and being who you are, not who someone else thinks you are. People like to put others in a box and tell them what they can and cannot do or who they can and cannot be. No one can tell you who you are and what you are made of, only you yourself know what you are made of, and only you yourself can do the work to become who you want to be.

No one can take away your pain, so don't let anyone take away your happiness.

It's a life's journey of finding ourselves, finding our power, and living for yourself, not for everyone else.

I don't have to be an expert. I just have to care.

Chocolate is the first luxury. It has so many things wrapped up in it: Deliciusness in the moment, childhood memories, and that grin-inducing feeling of getting a reward for being good.

When I was in my early 20s, I had my hair permed. Bad Idea! It turned into total frizz. My advice to women is: if you have nice hair already, don't get a perm, leave your hair alone.

Yes. I did more research than I ever wanted to and saw some things I wish I didn't. I went on ride-alongs, spent time with Homicide, Cold Case, and SVU detectives, hung out in subways learning how to spot pervs and pick-pockets, viewed an autopsy, went to a police firing range, and witnessed court cases and I read, read, read.

Your body is not who you are. I don't think women should label themselves based on the way they look. What about defining yourself by a different kind of measurement? What about your heart, your soul, your compassion, your generosity, your strength and your power? There are so many other things to focus on besides your waistline.

No one can tell you who you are and what you are made of, only you yourself know what you are made of, and only you yourself can do the work to become who you want to be.

If I can play a little part in the world's healing, and making it a better place than when I came, then I just thank God for that chance.

People who overcome their fears every day, without fanfare, without recognition. Quiet, everyday courage, that’s what I admire most.

Just smiling at someone walking down the street can make the person's day. It's all about paying it forward.

Sexual assault and domestic violence are difficult things to talk about. Talk about them anyway.

Healing takes time, and asking for help is a courageous step.

Humor is about perspective, and hanging out with people who see life through a similar lens is so important.

But trust can take you a long way. And my faith takes me a long way. And I think that our pains, our vulnerabilities, and our insecurities can fuel us to be better. To try harder. To dig deeper.

I am grateful that I didn't let fear get the best of me. It only holds you back from possibilities and greatness.

You've got to kick fear to the side, because the payoff is huge.

Sixty-five percent of Americans don't have the conversation with their children. So you're sending off boys and girls off to college, off to high school, off to wherever they go, and nobody's had the conversation about how to conduct themselves. About a man telling his son how to be a man. How to respect a woman. How do you respect yourself?

Being sexy is just one part of being a woman and an actress. But if the part calls for sexy...

Over half a million women are raped in this country every year, and only a fraction of them report it because they're too ashamed. It’s a really screwed up world, but its not your fault, and what happened to you, it doesn't make you the monster.

The message I got from my father was that life is hard, but you just don't quit. I am grateful that I didn't let fear get the best of me. It only holds you back from possibilities and greatness. You've got to kick fear to the side, because the payoff is huge.

In life you have two choices. You can laugh or you can cry. You have to laugh, you have to.

I think God runs the show. Completely. Life proves it every day: He runs the show.

Sometimes things in life happen that allow us to understand our priorities very clearly. Ultimately you can see those as gifts.

You survived the abuse, you’re going to survive the recovery.

You know how you wake up in the morning and sometimes you look gorgeous and other times you look like you got hit by a mack truck? I realized that my mack truck is food. If I have no sugar, yeast or wine, I have no undereye bags and my skin is perfect.

Adoption was a bumpy ride - very bumpy. But, God, was it worth the fight.

A guy at ABC told me to change my name and get a nose job. I said 'You get a nose job.'

I've always heard that you'll know, but I never understood it. With Peter, we even broke up after we dated for a year, for two or three months, but I still knew. I knew there was something different about this union. Even through the hard times, it was like "How are we going to get through this?

By coming forward and sharing your story, you don't know the countless lives you change.

My weekends are extremely precious.

These days we don’t have to fit into something other people think we are. We’ve leveled the playing field, life is inclusive. I’m a mom, sex detective, wife, fearless, gentle — we can now, with grace, be all of what we are.

I realize that you have to show up for your life.

Surviving and thriving in the wake of my mothers loss, I learned to believe in God. He has a plan, if you pay attention to the signs. I am inspired by the absolute proof of miracles.

We're all connected. Helping another woman is helping yourself, your mother, your sister, your children.

You make sacrifices to become a mother, but you really find yourself and your soul.

There's so much that you can get mad about. Out of self-preservation, I focus on being grateful.

I get very excited about my double stroller. Every time I look at it, I get a shot of adrenaline and joy because I think, This is real!

When my body is strong, I feel stronger inside. I feel more capable of handling emotional situations. Usually I'm more of a inside-out person, but this was a great case of me from the outside in.

Losing my mother at such an early age is the scar of my soul. But I feel like it ultimately made me into the person I am today; I understand the journey of life. I had to go through what I did to be here.

I'm a size 8, and I feel proud of that, because it's healthy. I've never felt compelled to be a skinny actress.

Just having someone make you laugh so hard that it hurts is so healing to me.

If you stop for one second and do something, everyone is happy. You pay it forward and it comes back to you twelve-fold.

I look at all the things life has allowed me to do, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

I have a more developed sense of my priorities. Life has so much more meaning now.

When I read the script sometimes, it's like 'Christ! Enough!' I can't sleep at night sometimes. There's the occasional script that just hammers you, that you can't shower off.

I am proud to be a role model for my viewers. I am finding out that helping victims is as or more rewarding the all the awards I win.

I say to everybody, 'Adoption is not for the faint of heart.'