“`html
At 34, a motorcycle accident served as a profound turning point for the interviewee, who was a passenger on a friend’s motorcycle when a car collided with it. Describing the event in slow motion, she recalled thinking, “Oh my God, this is it, this how I’m going to die. I can’t believe I’m going to die at 34 like my mother.” Upon landing on the asphalt, she realized she was alive, declaring, “I’m alive, and I’m not dying.” This moment marked an “a-ha moment” and the conscious decision to break a generational cycle, stating, “this cycle is breaking now. I will not carry this with me. Her life is not my life.” She perceived the accident as a “wake-up call,” acknowledging that this personal journey had been a long time in the making.
On meeting her biological father, nelson Sardelli, for the first time
The experience of meeting her biological father, Nelson Sardelli, for the first time is described as akin to “putting in that final piece of the hardest puzzle you’ve ever put together.” The interviewee felt a profound sense of affirmation, stating, “I could actually feel my cells in my body exhale. It was such an affirmation that I was right, that I knew somthing.” This encounter also fostered a deep level of self-trust, as she realized her long-held intuition was correct. Upon seeing Nelson’s face, she recognized a striking resemblance, noting, “that’s my face! … Every single feature and everything made sense and I just felt strangely, uncomfortably home.”
On how the studio system’s mistreatment of her mother impacted Hargitay’s approach to her own acting career
