In a rare photo, Mariska Hargitay was seen hugging her 12-year-old only daughter.
Mariska Hargitay had a traumatic experience years before adopting Amaya Hermann when the mother who was supposed to give birth to the actress changed her mind.
However, the actress became a loving mother to an adorable baby girl after an African-American mother entrusted her child to her. She now considers herself lucky to have a blended family.
Fifty-nine-year-old actress Mariska Hargitay is known for her role on the hit TV show “Law & Order.” In addition to being the devoted wife of fellow actor Peter Hermann, 55, she is also the beloved mother of three children: August, Andrew, and Amaya Josephine Hermann. The actress usually keeps her family life quiet and would like her children to stay out of the limelight.
But on July 1, a close friend of the actress shared on Instagram two photos of her at the Chiltern Firehouse restaurant with Mariska Hargitay and other relatives of the stars.
In the first photo, the boyfriend and the actress were seen smiling and posing together. The second picture shows Mariska Hargitay cuddling with her husband, one of her boys, and daughter Amaya, who turned twelve this year.
Hargitay was forty-two when she became a mother for the first time. An age that is within the medical group indicates a higher risk of complications in pregnancy. A few years after she gave birth to her firstborn son, August, she started talking about another child because her child asked for it and because she and her husband wanted a big family.
After deciding to adopt, the couple began researching their options with adoption agencies. They began their search with the help of an adoption attorney who Hargitay says was wonderful and insightful.
With the unexpected arrival of baby Andrew, the family grew again.
The adoption procedure required a five-hour home visit, and the couple had to deal with many false starts, making the process more difficult overall. Hargitay revealed:
“A number of cases didn’t go as planned. Several difficulties of various kinds.”
But after patiently waiting and numerous rounds of visits and disappointments, at one point there was a small ray of optimism. Hargitay’s ambitions to one day have a daughter coincided perfectly with the news of a young pregnant woman about to give birth to a baby girl.
Naturally, the “Leaving Las Vegas” star tried not to get her hopes up, as this was about the third time they’d tried to adopt and expand their family. Still, she was ecstatic to meet her mother-to-be, describing her as brilliant, amazing, and intelligent.
After a very successful visit and about a month of non-stop communication, the mother, who was in labor, called Hargitay on the set of “Law & Order SVU” and told her to come to the hospital immediately.
After the baby was born, the couple received what was supposed to be their baby and spent two days getting to know the newborn – even naming the baby girl. Then Hargitay remembered:
“The parent had a change of heart, it was really devastating.
Unfortunately, the couple was forced to return the newborn to her biological mother because they had no other morally or ethically acceptable option. Luckily for them, things turned around when their social worker and lawyer offered them some amazing news that had Hargitay squealing with happiness.
They found an expectant mother who was ready to put her child up for adoption. Even their administrative staff, who described the new mom as “wonderful,” couldn’t help feeling that this would be the moment when the adoption would finally work out for the couple-to-be.
The couple and the birth mother had a great first phone conversation, and when the three finally met in person, Hargitay recalls being blown away by the woman’s beauty.
The couple couldn’t help but feel a little anxious and afraid that the same thing would happen again, even though they were incredibly happy to become parents of a second child.
However, the original mother assured Hargitay that she was sure she would become the mother of her child. Neither side seemed concerned about the racial aspect, despite the fact that the woman was African-American. Hargitay said:
“We were excited to have a multiracial family because that’s the world and we want our family to reflect a realistic microcosm of the world.”
In April 2011, the Hargitay-Hermann family welcomed baby Amaya, whose name means princess, warrior, and night rain. Shortly after Amaya’s arrival, Hargitay said how excited she and her entire family were — including her son August, who was four and a half years old at the time. She stated:
“I’m quite happy. From the moment she was born, she was incredibly responsive and loving. Because he claims the whole situation was his idea, [August] is ecstatic and talks about her as his child. He also often talks about how would protect her.
With the unexpected arrival of baby Andrew, the family grew again. When Hargitay and her husband were on a follow-up call to see how they were doing with their new baby, their attorney told them that if they were interested, they had a good chance of adopting another child, this time a boy.
The couple immediately showed a strong desire to adopt him, and baby Andrew soon followed his older sister Amaya into the household. In an interview with her and her husband, who decided to expand their family, Hargitay said:
In a rare photo, Mariska Hargitay was seen hugging her 12-year-old only daughter.
Mariska Hargitay had a traumatic experience years before adopting Amaya Hermann when the mother who was supposed to give birth to the actress changed her mind.
However, the actress became a loving mother to an adorable baby girl after an African-American mother entrusted her child to her. She now considers herself lucky to have a blended family.
Fifty-nine-year-old actress Mariska Hargitay is known for her role on the hit TV show “Law & Order.” In addition to being the devoted wife of fellow actor Peter Hermann, 55, she is also the beloved mother of three children: August, Andrew, and Amaya Josephine Hermann. The actress usually keeps her family life quiet and would like her children to stay out of the limelight.
But on July 1, a close friend of the actress shared on Instagram two photos of her at the Chiltern Firehouse restaurant with Mariska Hargitay and other relatives of the stars.
In the first photo, the boyfriend and the actress were seen smiling and posing together. The second picture shows Mariska Hargitay cuddling with her husband, one of her boys, and daughter Amaya, who turned twelve this year.
Hargitay was forty-two when she became a mother for the first time. An age that is within the medical group indicates a higher risk of complications in pregnancy. A few years after she gave birth to her firstborn son, August, she started talking about another child because her child asked for it and because she and her husband wanted a big family.
After deciding to adopt, the couple began researching their options with adoption agencies. They began their search with the help of an adoption attorney who Hargitay says was wonderful and insightful.
With the unexpected arrival of baby Andrew, the family grew again.
The adoption procedure required a five-hour home visit, and the couple had to deal with many false starts, making the process more difficult overall. Hargitay revealed:
“A number of cases didn’t go as planned. Several difficulties of various kinds.”
But after patiently waiting and numerous rounds of visits and disappointments, at one point there was a small ray of optimism. Hargitay’s ambitions to one day have a daughter coincided perfectly with the news of a young pregnant woman about to give birth to a baby girl.
Naturally, the “Leaving Las Vegas” star tried not to get her hopes up, as this was about the third time they’d tried to adopt and expand their family. Still, she was ecstatic to meet her mother-to-be, describing her as brilliant, amazing, and intelligent.
After a very successful visit and about a month of non-stop communication, Hargitay’s birth mother called the set of “Law & Order SVU” and told her to come to the hospital immediately.
After the baby was born, the couple received what was supposed to be their baby and spent two days getting to know the newborn – even naming the baby girl. Then Hargitay remembered:
“The parent had a change of heart, it was really devastating.
Unfortunately, the couple was forced to return the newborn to her biological mother because they had no other morally or ethically acceptable option. Luckily for them, things turned around when their social worker and lawyer offered them some amazing news that had Hargitay squealing with happiness.
They found an expectant mother who was ready to put her child up for adoption. Even their administrative staff, who described the new mom as “wonderful,” couldn’t help feeling that this would be the moment when the adoption would finally work out for the couple-to-be.
The couple and birth mother had a great first phone conversation, and when the three finally met in person, Hargitay recalls being blown away by the woman’s beauty.
The couple could not help but feel a little anxious and afraid that the same thing would happen again, even though they were incredibly happy to become parents of a second child.
However, the original mother assured Hargitay that she was sure she would become the mother of her child. Neither side seemed concerned about the racial aspect, despite the fact that the woman was African-American. Hargitay said:
“We were excited to have a multiracial family because that’s the world and we want our family to reflect a realistic microcosm of the world.”
In April 2011, the Hargitay-Hermann family welcomed baby Amaya, whose name means princess, warrior, and night rain. Shortly after Amaya’s arrival, Hargitay said how excited she and her entire family were — including her son August, who was four and a half years old at the time. She stated:
“I’m quite happy. From the moment she was born, she was incredibly responsive and loving. Because he claims the whole situation was his idea, [August] is ecstatic and talks about her as his child. He also often talks about how would protect her.
With the unexpected arrival of baby Andrew, the family grew again. When Hargitay and her husband were on a follow-up call to see how they were doing with their new baby, their attorney told them that if they were interested, they had a good chance of adopting another child, this time a boy.
The couple immediately showed a strong desire to adopt him, and baby Andrew soon followed his older sister Amaya into the household. In an interview with her and her husband, who decided to expand their family, Hargitay said: