When she was three years old, Hargitay's father Mickey married Ellen Siano, a flight attendant. The couple stayed together until Mickey's death in 2006. Siano, who helped raise her after her mother's tragic passing, was a great stepmother, Hargitay told E! True Hollywood Story. In fact, Hargitay told Good Housekeeping in 2012, "I called her Mom. She really claimed us."

But the family had a big scare in 1973, when a plane Siano was flying in hit terrible turbulence. "One passenger was killed, and four other people were hospitalized, including flight attendant Ellen," according E! True Hollywood Story. "She hit the floor and the ceiling something like 56 times," Hargitay said on the show, adding, "she was horrifically injured."

Of Ellen's very long recovery time, Hargitay said, "Those are tough emotions for kids to deal with, especially that specifically, to have that, you know, almost happen twice is — I don't know if there are words for it, but it was really scary for us." The program said that in response, "Mariska threw herself into school and became an overachiever."

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