Her children helped her understand the true value of life
Mariska Hargitay gave birth to her biological son at the age of 42. After several attempts, the woman realized that the only way to have a big family, was adoption. Let’s take a look at her adoption journey.
Mariska Hargitay was born on January 23, 1964. She got engaged in theater and film industry as an adult. The actress made her debut in the film industry in 1984 in the film “Ghoulies”. Then Mariska played in the TV series “ER”. In 1999, she got the leading role of Detective Olivia Benson in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. Very soon, Mariska managed to become the highest-paid actress of her generation. The actress has the Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
In 2004, Mariska played in “Plain Truth”, which led her to become an activist. The actress founded a non-profit organization – “Joyful Heart Foundation”.
Mariska played the role of Olivia Benson for 400 episodes, thus breaking a world record of playing the same character in most seasons.
Becoming a Mom
Mariska Hargitay married Peter Hermann in 2004. In 2006, she had her first biological child at the age of 42. They named the boy August. He was born with the help of Caesarean section.
“August has changed everything! After becoming a mom, I realized that life means much more! Every day of my life has become richer and gained even more sense”, shared the actress.
The new mom shared, that her son helped her understand the true value of everything in life.
Heartbreaking First Attempt of Adoption
August wanted siblings, but it was not easy for Hargitay to get pregnant again at her age. However, the actress and her husband have always wanted to have a big family, because they themselves came from such families.
Hargitay and Hermann knew they would need to adopt children one day. As a child, the actress lost her mom, so she knew that a mother should not necessarily be biological.
The spouses contacted a good and intuitive lawyer to start their adoption journey. They started visiting different houses and families. There were several failures and some cases didn’t work out.
Hargitay hoped to find a pregnant woman that was going to have a girl. Finally, they managed to find one. After several meetings the actress got really excited. The two women kept arranging meetings with each other, they talked and made plans. And when the day of the labor came, the biological mother of the baby called Hargitay. She went to the hospital, and the doctors handed her the baby.
The spouses very quickly got attached to the baby and developed a strong bond. They had even given her a name, when the biological mother stated that she had changed her mind. This news broke Hargitay’s heart. She said: “I have come to understand something important about life, and this is it: It was really painful for us t hear the surprising news, but I am happy that in the end the mother wanted to stay with her child!”.
The Second Attempt of Adoption
Although the spouses were upset about their last attempt, they didn’t give up on their dream. They kept looking for a girl. By the way, it had to be a girl, because August wanted a sister.
Soon the spouses met another woman that was expecting a girl. They agreed on the adoption and Hargitay couldn’t believe her eyes.
The pregnant woman was African-American, and this didn’t become an obstacle for them to adopt the baby. And the biological mother didn’t mind them adopting her child. At first, doctors claimed that she was going to have boy, but the results turned out to be wrong, and she gave birth to a girl. Hargitay stayed in the delivery room during the whole process. She even helped deliver the baby.
Before her birth, Hargitay and Hermann had already decided on a name for the girl. They wanted the initials to match the name August, so they chose the name Amaya. It means “princess”, “warrior” and “night rain” in different languages.
The Third Attempt Was a Miracle
Believe it or not, the spouses didn’t expect the coming of the third child. After Amaya’s adoption, August wanted a brother. Mariska found the timing just perfect for another child.
“Our second son, Andrew, appeared in our family by a miracle. He fell from the sky right into our home”, said the actress.
The family was getting ready to welcome another child into their home, when one of their good friends – Andrew – passed away. Shortly after that, their lawyer called them to tell about a two-month old premature newborn boy. He was still very weak and fragile.
The baby boy had just been released from the neonatal intensive care unit and was ready for adoption. Mariska and Peter visited his biological mother in the hospital. It turned out that the mother had gone through a lot of difficulties and she had a reason for not keeping the baby.
The adoption process was really fast and in just two days, the family had another member. The spouses named the boy Andrew, after their deceived friend.
Actress Loves Raising Different Children
Currently, the actress has a diverse family. All of her children are completely different and do not share the same interests.
As Andrew was a premature child and was still weak, he had to attend “Big Muscle” sessions. The classes helped the little boy with development and health improvement. Amaya likes music. Whenever she hears some music playing she immediately starts singing and dancing.
Hargitay wanted all her children to know how to deal with difficult situations in water, so she took them all to swimming. In fact, water is the greatest fear of all parents. Mariska makes sure she knows what her kids’ wants and needs are so that she can support them.
August loves his role as the eldest brother and wants more siblings. Now he wants one more sister, so that the number of boys and girls in the family is equal.
“I became a better parent thanks to my kids. They have taught me to really listen and understand them”, shared the actress.
Despite all the unsuccessful attempts in the beginning, Mariska believes she wouldn’t like it any other way. She finds her current family just perfect!
