Famous Families
‘Law & Order’ Star Mariska Hargitay Loves Being a Mom of 3! See Her Best Quotes About Her Adorable Kids
Emmy-winning actress Mariska Hargitay has led Law & Order and its spinoffs since 1999, cementing herself as one of the top drama actresses on television. She and her husband, Peter Hermann, met on the set of Law & Order: SVU in 2001. The couple got married in 2004 and welcomed three children together: August, Amaya and Andrew.
After their romance blossomed both on and off screen, Olivia and Peter decided that they wanted to start a family. They welcomed their first son, August, in June 2006. Adopting a child was always a part of Mariska and Peter’s plan, and they began the process for baby No. 2.
“August wanted siblings, and Peter and I both envisioned this big family because we both come from that. Plus, we just had so much love to give,” the Ghoulies actress told Good Housekeeping in April 2012. “I was really letting the chips fall as they might because I do think so much is up to God. I always said, ‘I don’t know how this is going to end up. I don’t know if I’m going to get pregnant and have twins. I don’t know … if somebody’s going to leave a baby on my doorstep.’”
The couple’s first adoption fell through, leaving them devastated. A phone call from their lawyer changed their lives after he connected them with another expectant mother. The Downtown star helped deliver her baby girl, Amaya, in 2011.
“I basically pulled Amaya out,” she said. “Peter and I held her, and then the birth mother and I hugged for a long time. That was profound. That was one of the most meaningful moments I’ve ever had in my life.”
A few months after the pair brought Amaya home, they welcomed their second son via adoption. The couple was shocked when they received the phone call about the baby. They named him Andrew as a tribute to a friend of theirs who died unexpectedly.
“It was one of those things that we were not expecting at all, and my husband and I looked at each other and have never been more sure about anything,” Mariska said during a 2012 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “This has been a year of true blessings.”
Keep scrolling to see Mariska’s sweetest quotes about being a mom of three.
