‘Law & Order’ Star Divorcing His Wife of 26 Years

Vincent D’Onofrio and his wife Carin van der Donk are calling it quits. The actor, who starred as Detective Robert Goren for 10 seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, made his first appearance in a New York City court on Tuesday, June 13 after filing for divorce from van der Donk in April.

D’Onofrio reportedly filed the divorce papers in Manhattan Supreme Court on April 12, according to the Daily Mail and the New York Post. However, due to the fact that divorce records are not public in New York and neither D’Onofrio nor van der Donk have publicly commented on the matter, details about their divorce, including their date of separation as well as a reason for their split, are not immediately known. The former couple is said to be fighting over the custody of their 15-year-old son Luka. D’Onofrio and van der Donk are also parents to son Elias, 23. D’Onofrio had another daughter from his first marriage, Leila George.

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During the June 13 hearing, D’Onofrio and van der Donk, a Dutch photographer and former model, entered the courthouse separately. The estranged couple’s lawyers spent most of the hearing behind closed doors with Justice Kathleen Waterman-Marshall, who later confirmed that “this is the first time I had the opportunity to meet the attorneys and litigants” and “most of the issues” in the case have been resolved. Waterman-Marshall did not, however, that “custody is unresolved,” adding that “this is a family matter.”

D’Onofrio and van der Donk married on March 22, 1997 and went on to welcome their first child together, Elias, in 1999. They split in 2000, but reunited and welcomed their second son, Luke, in 2008. The judge set the next court hearing for Sept. 19.

Born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, D’Onofrio’s breakout role was in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket. The actor starred as Private Pyle in the Vietnam War drama. He later landed a notable role as Det. Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, with the actor recently revealing while speaking on a panel at ICCCon that he would like to eventually reprise the role in the growing Law & Order spinoff. The actor also starred as Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) in four television series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and made his directorial debut with the Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke-starring Western The Kid in 2019.