Mariska Hargitay plays the fierce Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and while she’s a mom to one son on the show, the actress is a mother of three in real life. Hargitay and her husband, fellow actor Peter Hermann, are the parents of August, Amaya and Andrew. Meet the eldest one in the bunch, August, and learn all about Hargitay and Hermann’s first-born child.
August Miklos Friedrich Hermann was born on June 28, 2006, two years after Hargitay and Hermann tied the knot. Their son was the first of the children they welcomed and their only biological child.
The now 19-year-old recently graduated high school and completed his first year of college (where he went has been kept under wraps). The actress reflected on her son leaving home for the first time.
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“It is so stressful, and I thought that it wouldn’t be because I’m very much like, ‘You will end up where you’re supposed to be,’ and he did, but you can say that all you want until you go through it,” Hargitay explained. “It’s so hard, and it’s so stressful for these kids.”
His sweet connection to Jayne Mansfield
Hargitay’s mother, actress and model Jayne Mansfield, tragically died in 1967 when Hargitay was just a baby. But despite her being gone for so long, the actress is still able to remember her in the sweetest way: through her son.
The Law & Order: SVU actress shared how much the two resembled each other, despite August never meeting his grandmother.
“He also looks so much like her,” Hargitay said. “August looks exactly like her.”
August also paid tribute to his grandmother during the premiere of her film, My Mom Jayne, by wearing something meaningful on the red carpet.
“My son was so sweet because I wanted to put a heart or maybe a — you know, we talked about possibly putting a ‘J’ on his lapel, and then all of a sudden, I went (gasps), ‘Her signature was so beautiful,’ and it’s part of the film.”
The pink glittery signature, which is seen in the film, was sewn onto the lapel of August’s jacket for the premiere.
“My son was so proud to wear it,” she said. “It was really extraordinary.”
August visits the set of ‘Law & Order: SVU’
Hargitay’s son is proud of his mother and he’s not afraid to show it. August and Peter Hermann made sure to visit Hargitay on the set of Law & Order: SVU during the filming of Season 27, just a few days ago.
Photos of the three show her husband and son towering over Hargitay while smiling. August was also seen wearing a headset while sitting on a bench with his mother.