Fans Can't Get Enough of Mariska Hargitay's Gorgeous Throwback Photo from Her Teen Years

Law and Order: SVU fans are loving Mariska Hargitay's latest throwback picture.

The photo shows Hargitay as a young adult, smiling in a self-cut Sleeping Beauty t-shirt while posing at what appears to be a fair or carnival. She captioned the Instagram post using only the hashtags "#WayBackWednesday #SleepingBeauty"."

And fans were smitten with the gorgeous shot with plenty of comments complimenting her radiant smile. "Best smile!!!," remarked a fan, while another gushed, "Your smile lights up the universe ????."

Some of Hargitay's famous friends also shared their love for the pic. "Omg," commented You's Kathryn Gallagher, while Ali Wentworth suggested, "You should cut all your T shirts like that!"

Hargitay's stunning looks as a teen shouldn't come as a surprise. Before becoming an actress like her late mother Jayne Mansfield, Hargitay started out as a pageant queen. She was crowned as Miss Beverly Hills in 1982 and made fourth runner-up in the 1983 Miss California pageant. In a chat with Parade, she was asked what her talent was for these pageant shows. "There was no talent! I'm telling you, it just goes to show you how far removed I was from the entertainment business," she said.

In 2013, a video on the Q&A portion of her Miss Beverly Hills pageant resurfaced, showing Hargitay's wholesome answer to being asked "What do you consider your greatest motivation factor—in other words, what makes you tick?" She responded saying, "What makes me tick is the happiness I see in other people and just wanting to be with other people and help them. When I see other people reaching out to me, I want to reach out more, but when they don't reach out, I want to reach out even more to them, to make someone smile, make someone happy."

Next: Mariska Hargitay Delights 'Law & Order' Fans With 'Just Another Day in the Office' Photo