When Mariska Hargitay received the Anniversary Tribute honor at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards on June 4, the longtime "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star looked back on her 25 years at the helm of the hit TV procedural but also took the time to reflect on her family.
"My husband Peter [Hermann] and I are in the process of watching our oldest son graduate from high school, and we've been shuffling around our house for the last few months just muttering, 'Where does the time go? Where does the time go? What happened?'" Hargitay said before choking back tears.
Hargitay and Hermann married back in 2004. The two actors first met on the set of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," with Hargitay starring as Detective Olivia Benson and Hermann guest-starring as defense attorney Trevor Langan.
Hargitay told People in a 2019 interview that for her, it was "love at first sight" when she met and quickly connected with Hermann. They attended a church service together shortly afterward.
"I just started sobbing. Peter thought I was crying because I was so moved by the service," Hargitay recalled of her overwhelming feelings at the time. "No, it was because I was just overwhelmed, realizing he was the one."
The couple live in New York with their three children. Get to know their family below.
August, Hargitay's oldest son with Hermann, was born June 28, 2006. He is graduating from high school this year and heading off to college.
"It's so wonderful. I tell everybody that my life began when I had my children," Hargitay said of motherhood in a May 2024 interview on "Live with Kelly and Mark."
Hargitay also opened up in the interview about her close bond with August, joking that "wherever he goes to college, I am buying an apartment."
"That is the joke," she continued. "I say to him every time, like if he goes on a date, I go, 'So, what time should I meet you guys?'"
Mariska Hargitay steps out with husband Peter Hermann, their 3 kids: See the photosHargitay and Hermann decided to adopt their two youngest children, daughter Amaya and son Andrew.
"It's pretty dreamy. Some days I just sit and pinch myself because when we adopted our daughter, our beloved daughter, who thrills me and rocks my world ... you know, you have one kid and then you think, 'Oh my gosh, I'll never love another kid,' and then the second one comes, and you can't believe that you love them, and then the third one fell out of the sky," Hargitay said in a 2012 interview with "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Mariska Hargitay halts 'SVU' filming to help lost child who confused her for police officerThe youngest Hermann child is Andrew, who is only months apart in age from his older sister Amaya.
Hargitay told Ellen DeGeneres in the same 2012 interview that after they adopted Amaya, she and Hermann realized they would eventually want to adopt again. However, she said they received a phone call from their lawyer sooner than they had expected about Andrew, then a baby.
"We got a call out of nowhere from our lawyer, who said, 'We have this amazing little boy and this amazing opportunity,' and 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. I knew it was just right," Hargitay recalled.
"It was very exciting and it just felt like nothing shy of a miracle," she added.