Mariska Hargitay's Best Secrets to Staying Happy: Long Baths, Exercise and More

TV cop Mariska Hargitay, who’s starred as Olivia Benson on TV’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for 25 years, is about to turn 61 — and her life is busier than ever!

The mom-of-three just sent her oldest son off to college and marked her 20th anniversary to former costar Peter Hermann. “The thing that really keeps me going is I understand just how lucky I am,” the actress, whose parents were Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, said. “I live in gratitude. I sit and think about how I’m just so thankful for the opportunities I’ve had and that I’m doing something I love, every day."

Here are some of the other ways Hargitay stays happy and healthy.

"I do brain games,” she said. “Being engaged and having to learn my lines also helps, because the brain is just a muscle, right? And as we get older, you cannot emphasize the importance of heart health. For that, exercise is key, and I try to eat and sleep well.”

“Baths are an underappreciated stress solution. I love how it feels and how it washes the day away,” the star said. “It gets your blood flowing, and water is incredibly soothing to me.”

When things get hectic, Hargitay said she turns to others for help. “I get it from God, my family, my team and my relationships,” she revealed. “My husband, Peter, is my North Star and my emotional rock, my kids bring me so much joy I can’t see straight, and I’ve known my co-workers for such a long time, it isn’t just a work relationship anymore. There’s so much love.”

"I’ve worked so hard on letting go of things that don’t matter and trying to focus on what’s really important,” Hargitay explained. “That, and working on myself, is one of the greatest things of all.”