Joyful Heart in the News

Mariska Hargitay will narrate 'Children of 9/11' a special about the children affected directly by the September 11 terrorist attacks. The special will debut on September 5, 2011, at 10:00 ET on NBC, according to an August 31 media annoucement from NBC.

On September 11, 2001, over 3,000 children lost a father or a mother. The children came from many different walks of life, but are united by a terrifying shared experience.

"Children of 9/11" is a riveting special which gives a voice to the young people directly affected by this terrible event. Emmy Award winning actress and star of NBC's "Law and Order: SVU," Mariska Hargitay, will be the voice of this special.

The special follows a year in the lives of six of the children who suffered the loss of a parent during the terrorist attack,as they overcome the loss and turn their lives around. Ten years later, the children are achieving ambitions that would make their parents proud.

The special gives the children affected by 9/11 a voice, for the first time. A bitter twist of fate has indelibly linked their childhood to the worst terrorist attack of modern times. The film interweaves the stories of the children, including home movie footage with interviews to create intimate portraits of the families, both before and after the event.


Mariska Hargitay has earned eight consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for her role as Olivia Benson on "Law and Order: SVU," with a win in 2006. She also received the 2005 Golden Globe Award and another Golden Globe nomination in 2009, six SAG Award nominations, and two Gracie Allen Awards for American Women in Radio and Television.


Inspired by her role as a detective dealing with sex crimes in the Special Victims' Unit on "Law & Order: SVU," Mariska Hargitay created the Joyful Heart Foundation, whose mission is to heal, educate, and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, and to shed light into the darkness surrounding these issues/

'Joyful Heart' has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii, offering healing, wellness and empowerment programs for survivors of abuse and the professionals who care for them.

"Joyful Heart is about the courage to heal, and all of our programming is dedicated to honoring that brave decision," says Hargitay.

Through Joyful Heart,Mariska Hargitay has used her voice to bring attention, funding, and new legislation to critical issues facing sexual and family violence survivors, working with the medical community, the criminal justice system and law enforcement. Last year, she testified before Congress to urge lawmakers to address the backlog of untested rape kits in the US.