Getty Darren Criss and Mia Swier attend the premiere of Showtime's "The L Word: Generation Q" at Regal LA Live on December 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Mia Swier is Darren Criss’ wife, and although she is more often behind the scenes, she also works in the entertainment industry.
Swier is a producer, writer and musician. She has worked for major networks, and even worked on Glee with Criss. But their relationship started long before he was famous. They have been together for about 10 years, and they were married February 16, 2019 during a four-day party in New Orleans.
Criss is an actor and executive producer on Hollywood, which airs Friday May 1, 2020, on Netflix.
“Dreams come true, but at what cost?” Criss said in an interview about the series with The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Mia Swier Owns Her Own Production Company & Was in a Guns ‘n Roses Tribute Band
Mia Swier, like her famous husband, works in the entertainment industry. She attended New York University’s Steinhardt School of Media Studies and Television Production, according to PEOPLE. She has worked for major networks including Fox and Showtime. Her Network experience includes working on Glee, where Darren Criss got his start. But the two have been together since before he was a TV actor.
Swier also worked for ABC, NBC and USA Network while attending NYU, according to her IMDB profile, which lists her as a writer/producer. In addition to her work on Glee, she worked on Scream Queens, Gracepoint, The Mindy Project, New Girl, Raising Hope and The Following. She has also worked on TV programs including including Saturday Night Live, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, The Tony Awards, The Daytime Emmy Awards, The Superbowl, The Thanksgiving Day Parade, The NFL Kickoff, The Tony Danza Show, Nashville Star and One Life to Live.
Swier also founded a film production company, Effin Media, with co-founder Dan Bricker. Through that company, she has sent her own films to festivals including “A (Not So) Civil Union,” a short mockumentary about the first legalized lesbian wedding, and Somewhere Between, a German/English short psycho-thriller, her profile said.
Swier is also a musician. She started the alt-punk garage rock band, Shoot the Freak, in 2009. They broke up in 2012, and she went onto found an all-girl Guns ‘n Roses cover band, Guns ‘n Hoses. She went on to become the lead vocalist in the rock band, Mad Moon Riot. She left the group in 2015 due to her other work.
2. Mia Swier & Darren Criss Were Married During a 4-Day Event In New Orleans February 16, 2019
Mia Swier and Darren Criss’ wedding went far beyond the traditional ceremony and wedding reception. The couple made their wedding a four-day event, according to Vogue. It started on Valentine’s Day, 2019, with an ’80s-themed prom night at One Eyed Jacks, the burlesque and comedy show hotspot in New Orleans. It continued the next day with a a swamp tour excursion to the bayou, where guests held baby alligators and Mia drove an air boat. That night, the couple hosted a rehearsal dinner and drinks.
Darren Criss told Vogue the New Orleans wedding was perfect for the couple and for their guests because it encapsulated their personalities and was halfway in between their hometowns.
“New Orleans holds a special place in our lives,” he said. “It’s full of fond memories from a lot of time spent there over the years. It encapsulates our collective personality: a combination of hedonism and elegance. It’s a unique, colorful town full of celebration and music. Also, it’s equidistant from our home cities of Los Angeles and New York, where most of our guests were coming from. Suffice it to say, they don’t do things in New Orleans the way they do in other parts of the world—and we wanted to be sure our wedding was unlike anything our guests had experienced before.”
During the ceremony, Swier wore a Vera Wang dress and Dr. Martins. Criss wore Giorgio Armani. The reception concluded with a three-hour concert, featuring the couples’ friends and family.
“It just kept going and nobody wanted it to end,” Darren Criss told Vogue. “It was less a celebration of us specifically and more a celebration of the life we’ve built together. The whole thing was a dream. It was exactly what we had hoped it would be. Best weekend of our lives.”
3. Mia Swier & Darren Criss Have Been Wearing Masks in Public During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Mia Swier and Darren Criss were spotted following CDC guidelines of wearing masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Daily Mail. They were spotted April 7, 2020 going out for a walk in the rain and wearing bandannas as face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time in Los Angeles, the city had been on lockdown for weeks and non-essential businesses were closed.
Darren Criss made a guest appearance with Phantom Planet during a social distance quarantine performance on April 19, 2020. He wrote on Instagram about his longtime fandom and glee in playing with the group.
“I got to be *THE GUEST* on a special @phantomplanet at-home re-issue of their 2002 track ‘ANTHEM,’ a hopeful ode to these crazy Quarantimes. When this song first came out, they played shows I missed because I wasn’t 18 yet. I was so bummed…” he wrote. “Now that those same songs are 18 and older themselves, I feel like I get to make up for those shows I missed back in the day by getting to be part of their 2020 Quarantine set… And I’m hoping everyone will sing along. Crazy Quarantimes indeed. Thanks Phantom Planet!”
4. Mia Swier & Darren Criss Were Together Long Before He Was Famous
Mia Swier and Darren Criss had a lengthy relationship before they finally tied the knot in New Orleans during a four-day party February 16, 2019. They were engaged in January 2018, but were dating long before that. Criss was asked about Mia Swier during an interview on The Roz and Mocha Show back in 2013.
“Oh yeah, we’ve been together a long time,” Darren Criss said at the time. “I didn’t know I was going to be on TV when we started dating.”
When they were engaged in January 2018, he wrote a sweet post to his bride-to-be on Instagram. He said then that they’d been together for 7 1/2 years.
“Mia and I have had seven and a half years of fun, wacky, wonderful, CRAZY adventures together. And I’m happy to announce that we’re kicking those adventures up a notch. We’re goin for it. To boldly go where neither of us have gone before. Engage,” he wrote.
5. Mia Swier & Darren Criss Own a Los Angeles Bar Together, Tramp Stamp Granny’s
Mia Swier and her husband, Darren Criss, own a Los Angeles bar together. It’s called Tramp Stamp Granny’s, and, according to its website, its known for “drinks, dancing and upscale debauchery.” Although they are facing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, they have continued to host events online. Quarantined Carabaret events have been streaming live on Instagram.
On March 14, the day after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency for COVID-19, Tramp Stamp Granny’s made an announcement on its Instagram page.
“This COVID-19 is for real and we feel it is our responsibility to combat the spread of this jerk pandemic,” the announcement said. “Therefore, after a lot of deliberation, we have decided to postpone our next piano-side singalong for a couple weeks. We will update here when we have the next open day. Stay safe and healthy. We will miss you all.”
Mia Swier’s family has a background in venue ownership, according to Women’s Health. Her family owned Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, Moroccan Lounge, and Teragram Ballroom.
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