In addition to being an actress, Mariska Hargitay is also a mom, wife and daughter.
The longtime "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star was joined by her husband, actor Peter Hermann, and their three children on the red carpet for the premiere of her directorial debut "My Mom Jayne" over the weekend, at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Hargitay first announced the documentary, which she directed and produced, back in April. The film, which will be released on HBO and Max on June 27, explores the legacy of Hargitay's mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car accident in 1967.
"This movie is a labor of love and longing. It's a search for the mother I never knew, an integration of a part of myself I'd never owned, and a reclaiming of my mother's story and my own truth," Hargitay said at the time, in a statement about the documentary. "I've always believed there is strength in vulnerability, and the process of making this film has confirmed that belief like never before."
The Cannes premiere was far from Hargitay's first time stepping out with her family, whom she talks about frequently.
Hargitay and Hermann share three children. In July last year, the actress shared a photo of her family attending one of Katie Ledecky's swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The family was all smiles while posing together with Ledecky's parents in the photo.
"So honored to celebrate the extraordinary @katieledecky with the extraordinary Ledecky family!! #Paris2024," she wrote in the caption at the time.
When Hargitay received the Anniversary Tribute honor at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards in June 2024, she looked back on her 25 years at the helm of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" but also took the time to reflect on her family.
"My husband Peter 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 then before choking back tears.
Hargitay and Hermann married back in 2004. The two actors met on the set of "Law & Order: SVU," on which Hargitay stars as Detective Olivia Benson, when Hermann guest-starred as defense attorney Trevor Langan. Hermann has appeared as a recurring guest star on the show since 2002.
Hargitay told People in a 2019 interview that for her, it was "love at first sight" when she met and quickly connected with Hermann. She said 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.
