Mariska Hargitay Grown Adopted Daughter Hug in Rare Pic Years after She Cried Becoming Her Mom

• Mariska Hargitay was seen in a rare picture of her hugging her only daughter, who is now 12 years old.
• Years before Amaya Hermann was adopted, Hargitay went through a painful experience in which a mother who was going to give her child to her changed her mind.
• However, after an African-American mother entrusted Hargitay with her child, she became a doting mom to the sweet little girl. She now feels blessed to have her multiracial family.

Mariska Hargitay, 59, is an accomplished actress who is widely known for starring in the popular series “Law & Order.” Outside of her career, she is a doting wife to fellow actor Peter Hermann, 55, and a beloved mother of three, August, Andrew, and Amaya Josephine Hermann. Typically, Hargitay tends to keep her family life very private and prefers for her children to remain out of the limelight.

However, on July 1, a close friend of hers took to Instagram to post two pictures of her hanging out with Harigtay, and a few members of the star’s family, at what appeared to be a restaurant. The first picture showed the friend and Hargitay posing together and smiling. The second picture included an endearing cuddle session between Hargitay, her husband, one of her sons, Andrew, and her daughter Amaya, who just turned 12 years old this year.

The first time Hargitay became a mother, she was 42 years old. An age that falls within a medical category that denotes a heightened risk of one experiencing pregnancy complications. She gave birth to her firstborn son, August, and following a few years, at her son’s request and as a result of both her and her spouse’s desire to have a big family, talks of another baby coming into the family began.

After deciding to take the adoption route, the couple began to explore their options with adoption agencies. They found what Hargitay described as a fantastic intuitive adoption lawyer who helped them embark on their journey toward adoption.

The family grew one more time with the addition of baby Andrew, who came as somewhat of a surprise.

The adoption proceedings included a mandatory comprehensive five-hour house visit, and the overall process was not always easy on the couple, as they had to endure a lot of false starts. Hargitay disclosed:

“There were several cases that didn’t work out. A lot of different kinds of complications.”

However, sometime after patiently waiting and enduring the various rounds of visitations and letdowns, a small glimmer of hope came to be. The hopeful parents caught word of a young pregnant woman who was set to give birth to a baby girl, which perfectly suited Hargitay’s dream of having a daughter one day.

This case was approximately the third time they had attempted to adopt and extend their family, so naturally, the “Leaving Las Vegas” talent tried her best not to get her hopes up. Nevertheless, as soon as she met the mom-to-be, she couldn’t help but be excited, as she described the mother as someone bright, incredible, and intelligent.

Following their visit, which went exceedingly well, and after about a month of ongoing communication, when the mother was in labor, she rang Hargitay, who was on the “Law & Order SVU” set, and alerted her to come to the hospital immediately. After the birth, the couple was handed what was supposed to be their bundle of joy, and they had the opportunity to bond with the newborn for a total of two days, even going so far as to name the little girl before they were devastatingly informed:

“The birth mother changed her mind. It was nothing short of devastating.”

Tragically, the married couple was left with no ethical or morally-sound choice but to hand the newborn baby back to her biological mother. However, their luck, fortunately, changed for the better when their lawyer and social worker brought them some great news which made Hargitay cry tears of joy. They had managed to locate a mother who was expecting and willing to give her baby up for adoption.

The feeling that this would finally be the time when adoption would work out for the anticipating couple could not be denied, even by their administrative team, who described this new mom as amazing. After an excellent initial phone conversation between the birth mother and the couple, the three met in person, and Hargitay recalled being blown away by how wonderful the woman was.

Though they were unbelievably excited about standing a good chance of becoming parents for the second time, the couple couldn’t help but remain slightly worried and fearful over the same situation in which their hopes were shattered, happening again. However, the bio mom assured Hargitay that she had no doubt in her mind that she would become the mother of her child.

Though the woman was African-American, both parties involved had no qualms about the racial factor. In fact, Hargitay expressed:

“We were excited to have a multiracial family because that’s what the world is, and we want our family to reflect a realistic microcosm of the world.”

Baby Amaya, whose name translates to princess, warrior, and night rain, was welcomed into the Hargitay-Hermann family in April 2011. Soon after Amaya arrived, Hargitay divulged how ecstatic she and the whole family, including her then four-and-a-half-year-old son, August, was to People magazine:

“I’m deliriously happy. From the minute she was born, she was just surprisingly alert and so full of love… [August] is over the moon; he calls her his baby because he says the whole thing was his idea, [and] he always talks about how he’s going to protect her.”

The family grew one more time with the addition of baby Andrew, who came as somewhat of a surprise. During a check-up call to see how Hargitay and her husband were fairing with their new baby, their lawyer informed them that there was another baby (this time, a boy) they stood a good chance of adopting if they were interested.

Without hesitation, the couple expressed emphatic interest in adopting him, and baby Andrew joined their family shortly after his older sister, Amaya. During a sit-down interview with People magazine, Hargitay, while speaking of her and her husband’s decision to expand their family, stated:

“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.”

Despite the challenges they faced while making several attempts to adopt, Hargitay and Hermann’s endurance proved successful in the end. They are now blessed to live an amazing life with their beautiful multiracial family.