Mariska Hargitay pulled out all the stops for her big night.
The Law & Order: SVU star, whose character Olivia Benson is the longest-running primetime live-action character in American television history, is hosting television's biggest night in Hollywood, the Primetime Emmys, on Monday, September 14.
Her appearance was show-stopping as soon as she hit the red carpet, dazzling in a sequin red dress with off-the-shoulder straps and a sweetheart neckline.
What's more, not only did she have all of her family with her, husband Peter Hermann, and kids August, 20, Amaya, 15, and Andrew, 14, her daughter twinned with her in a matching red dress, hers featuring a strappy neckline and a shorter hem.
The night's emcee is coming off of two wins this season already for the documentary My Mom Jayne, about the life and untimely death of her mother Jayne Mansfield.
The 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards are airing Monday, September 14 at 8 p.m. ET, live from the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Viewers can watch the broadcast on NBC or stream the event live online with a Peacock subscription.
There are both mainstays and newcomers leading the nominations. HBO's The Pitt leads the nominations with 25 for its second season, followed by Hacks with 24 for its fifth and final season, then Apple TV+ trails with 19 for the first season of Widow's Bay, and 18 for the first season of Pluribus.
Some of the anticipated big winners of the night are Matthew Rhys, nominated for both The Beast in Me as well as Widow's Bay, plus Jean Smart, who has thus far won an Emmy for every season of Hacks, and who could be tying with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman for most acting Emmys for a single performer should she win her eighth Emmy tonight.
Mariska — who first began playing the beloved Olivia Benson in 1999 — and Peter first met in 2001 on the set of Law & Order: SVU, when he began guest starring as defense attorney Trevor Langan. His most recent appearance on the show was in April 2006.
Their first date was at church, per Peter's request, and of the special moment, Mariska once told People: "We went to church together, and it was like getting hit with a lightning bolt," adding: "I just started sobbing. Peter thought I was crying because I was so moved by the service. No, it was because I was just overwhelmed, realizing he was the one."
They officially tied the knot three years later in Santa Barbara, California, in front of around 200 of their closest friends and family members.
Last year, Mariska premiered her directorial debut, a documentary titled My Mom Jayne, about the life and early death of her mother Jayne Mansfield. Her husband Peter was a supportive figure in the documentary, and among the final scenes is a moment he gifts her her mother's beloved piano she had spent years hoping to purchase.









