Who Is Mariska Hargitay's Gorgeous Husband, Peter Hermann?

Peter Hermann is definitely among the most gorgeous husbands most people didn't know a celebrity had. The actor's life irrevocably changed for the better in 2002 after he bagged a recurring role on the third season of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" and met his future wife, Mariska Hargitay. Speaking to People in 2019, Hargitay recalled how Hermann asked her to come to church with him on their first date, which turned out to be far more emotional than she expected because the Emmy winner felt so deeply drawn to him. "I just started sobbing. Peter thought I was crying because I was so moved by the service," she recalled. "No, it was because I was just overwhelmed, realizing he was the one." 

Just two years later, Hargitay walked down the aisle to marry him. In another 2019 People interview, Hermann confirmed that "laughter" was the secret to their long-standing marriage, clarifying, "Not just actual laughter. But also the way that Mariska is just the embodiment of laughter — of joy." Additionally, the actor asserted that although they had their fair share of arguments, the couple always came out stronger on the other side of them because they were so united in their vision for the future. 

Meanwhile, Hermann shared in a 2018 chat with Entertainment Tonight that they generally kept things simple and followed the basics of any good relationship: "Kindness, [listening] well, and [fighting] fair." Alongside being a wonderful husband, Hermann is also a phenomenal father to his and Hargitay's three kids, who are growing up so fast. 

In June 2006, Peter Hermann and Mariska Hargitay welcomed their first child, August Miklos Friedrich. Their family grew by two in 2011 when they adopted their daughter, Amaya Josephine, and son, Andrew Nicolas. During the celebrity couple's joint 2019 interview with People, Hermann briefly touched on their sweet family life, saying, "It's funny, I always get so private about our kids, but I think that the easiest way or the easiest answer is we just wanted a bigger family and we feel incredibly blessed." 

Meanwhile, in a 2012 Good Housekeeping interview, the "Law and Order: SVU" star shared that she and her husband always wanted a big family since they both grew up in big families. But she and Hermann were unsure if they could biologically conceive more children after their first. And since they both always knew they wanted to adopt at some point, they decided to start trying.  Unfortunately, Hermann and Hargitay had to endure tons of hardships in their journey and even had to return a 2-day-old baby to its birth mother, who wanted it back. 

"It was nothing short of devastating," Hargitay sadly admitted as she reflected on the difficult experience, per People. However, they ultimately chose to see the silver lining in the situation, reasoning simply, "It was so painful for us, but it was deeply joyful and deeply right for her." Elsewhere, during a 2012 appearance on the "Today" show, Hargitay gushed about adoption, noting that their struggles were more than worth it because they brought them everything they had dreamed of.

Peter Hermann officially became an author in 2018 with the release of his children's book, "If The S In Moose Comes Loose." In the press release for the book, Hermann confessed that the initial draft was almost as long as Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace," which clocks in at over 1,400 pages. Additionally, the proud first-time author looked forward to when his kids spotted his work at their local library and they could brag to their friends about how they knew him. Meanwhile, in Hermann's 2018 chat with Parade, he admitted that he couldn't contain his excitement when he read the book to his kids for the first time, and the little ones caught onto his feelings and told him to turn his enthusiasm down a notch. 

Fortunately, his wife, Mariska Hargitay, was equally excited about Hermann's hard work finally being published. The author detailed how the Emmy winner celebrated the book's release by getting their family members and dog matching yellow scarves to match the one the cow wore in his book. If that wasn't adorable enough, she also got him several moose memorabilia. During a 2018 appearance on the "Build Series," Hermann admitted that although writing a book had been a lifelong dream, it wasn't easy for him to follow through with his plans because his inner self-critic constantly told him it was a bad idea. However, he eventually learned to listen to the critic's advice but still do what he felt was best.

While speaking to the Observer in 2016, Peter Hermann confirmed that he had worked with "Sex and the City" creator Darren White when the actor briefly appeared on the show as a potential love interest for Charlotte. After the duo joined forces for the 2008 dramedy "Cashmere Mafia," White offered Hermann the role of Charles Brooks on "Younger," and he, of course, jumped at the opportunity. During a 2017 chat with People, Hermann fondly reminisced about how a group approached him and Mariska Hargitay when they were vacationing in Italy. As he readied himself to snap a photo of them with his wife, they told him they actually recognized him from "Younger," and it filled his heart with joy. 

However, Hermann acknowledged to the Observer that he had trouble watching himself on the show, explaining, "When I first watch I pick it relentlessly, and then if I watch it again, I actually see it in the context of the story, and I can be like, "Oh the story gets told," even though in X I wish I had played such and such a way." The actor revealed on "Black Girl Nerds" in 2021 that his favorite part of working on the hit comedy was sharing the screen with someone as immensely talented as Sutton Foster. Hargitay told Entertainment Tonight that she was equally chuffed that her hubby got to work with Foster because she had witnessed her talents firsthand when the actor appeared on "Law & Order: SVU."

During a 2011 interview with the Lincoln Center Theater, Peter Hermann recounted that he made his Broadway debut in 2001 with a minor role in "Judgment at Nuremberg." However, at one point during the production, his castmate, Michael Hayden, had to step away for a weekend, and Hermann took on the iconic role in his place. Soon afterward, he landed supporting roles in "Talk Radio," which also featured "Law & Order: SVU" alum, Stephanie March and "War Horse." The production of the latter play proved far more difficult than he expected because Hermann had to constantly come face-to-face with the death and destruction caused by war. Additionally, though, he felt more connected to both his German roots and American upbringing while doing the play because his character spoke English with a German accent. 

In his 2011 chat with Broadway.com, Hermann also enthused that he was particularly impressed by the complex puppetry involved in their Broadway production because it really captivated the audience. As for why he's so fond of stage acting, "It's being in a room with 1,000 people and feeling them react collectively to something that they genuinely did not expect." The prolific actor continued, "Other days, it's that moment of watching someone who is about to make an entrance, whether it's the lead of the show or someone who is about to puppet a crow around the stage." Further, Hermann holds a deeply-rooted admiration for theaters as a structure.

Elsewhere in his 2011 Broadway.com interview, Peter Hermann clarified that although he was born in New York, his German family moved back to their home country when he was an infant and remained there until he was 10. The "Younger" star grew up in the States and eventually attended Yale University. During his 2018 appearance on the "BUILD Series," Hermann confirmed that he became an ESL teacher for Teach For America in its first year in 1990. Meanwhile, in Hermann's 2019 chat with Forbes, he shared that he had also bagged a job as a fact-checker at Vanity Fair in the early days of his career and had eventually decided to write a few articles, too. Unfortunately, his attempt at trying something new didn't go to plan because he ended up recording over an interview tape of filmmaker Sofia Coppola. 

To make matters worse, when Hermann tried to rectify his mistake by trying to gather some highlights from her team he only got, "If you're that much of an idiot, you can have no more of our time," in response. Speaking to Lincoln Center Theater in 2011, Hermann divulged that he got his first big break in the entertainment industry in the soap opera "Guiding Light" all the way back in 1987. 

But, sadly, even Hermann's first acting gig didn't pan out as anticipated because the ambitious newcomer had a rather unusual role, which he described as, "I played a physical therapist who was working in a convent in Switzerland and who had lost his medical license because he had attempted to clone his wife." Ultimately, though, Hermann became one of the richest "Law & Order" stars.