Darren Criss won the triple crown of acting for his role as Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, taking home the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics’ Choice Award for his lead role in the 2018 true crime series. What the former Glee actor is most proud of, however, is his long-standing relationship and marriage to his partner, Mia.
Darren and Mia were an item before he broke out on television with now-frequent collaborator Ryan Murphy on the musical dramedy series, and the relationship has proven itself to be a lasting, loving one. What many fans of Criss may not know is that his now-wife Mia has her own achievements in the world of television and music.
Who is Mia Criss?
Mia Criss (née Swier) is a musician, producer, writer, and director. Mia was the bassist for Los Angeles-based rock band, Shoot the Freak, and later the all-female Guns N’ Roses cover band, Guns N’ Hoses. While not actively working as a musician at present, Mia, alongside husband Darren, co-own the Hollywood piano bar Tramp Stamp Granny’s.
Mia and Darren met in 2006 and remained friends until 2010, shortly before Darren made his debut as Blaine Anderson on Glee. Although Criss told KiSS FM in 2013 that he “didn’t know [he] was going to be on TV when we started dating,” Mia has her own lengthy history in film and television production.
A graduate of New York University’s Steinhardt School for Media Studies and Television Production, Swier directed the music video for Keke Palmer’s “I Don’t Belong to You,” and co-founded a production company, Effin Media, in 2009. Swier later became a producer for the Showtime network, working on popular shows like Dexter, Homeland, and Shameless. Mia subsequently worked at Fox before launching her own production company, Von Glitz Productions – a reference to her musician stage name, Mia Von Glitz.
Mia and Darren got engaged in January 2018. “Mia and I have had seven and a half years of fun, wacky, wonderful, CRAZY adventures together,” Darren posted on Instagram at the time. I’m happy to announce that we’re kicking those adventures up a notch. We’re going for it. To boldly go where neither of us have gone before. Engage. 🚀💍🖖.”
The pair wed in 2019, just months after Darren gave her a special shoutout to his love during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, winning Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Andrew Cunanan in the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
“Thank you Mia, for your undying patience and love that was waiting for me when I got home, Darren said on stage. “You roll the windows down and you pump the music up in my life.”
The two welcomed their first child, appropriately named Bluesy Belle, in 2022 and a son, Brother László, in 2024. To celebrate their expanding family, Darren created a hand-made parody poster of himself, Mia, and Bluesy, using the perfectly chosen poster of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).