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Alyson Hannigan (born Allison Lee Hannigan on March 24, 1974) is an American actress. She played Willow Rosenberg on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, flautist Michelle Flaherty in the American Pie film series, Julia Jones in Date Movie, and Lily Aldrin in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
Early life
Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C. to Albert Hannigan, an Irish American truck driver, and Emilie Posner, a Jewish American real estate agent. Her parents divorced a year after her birth and she was raised mostly by her mother in Atlanta. Although Hannigan had appeared in an industrial film for "Active Parenting" as a baby, as well as starred in a commercial for the "Duncan Hines cookie mix" in 1978, it wasn't until she moved to Los Angeles, California in 1985 that she formally began her acting career. Living with her mother and attending North Hollywood High School, she successfully auditioned for agents while visiting her father in Santa Barbara.
Career
Hannigan's first major film role was in My Stepmother Is an Alien, a science fiction comedy released in 1988; one of her co-stars in the film was actor Seth Green, who would later join her in the regular cast of Buffy as her on-screen boyfriend. Throughout most of the early 1990s, she appeared in commercials and supporting roles on television shows, including Picket Fences, Roseanne and Touched by an Angel.
In 1997, Hannigan was cast to play Willow Rosenberg, Buffy's best friend, on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show became a big success, and Hannigan gained recognition, subsequently appearing in several notable films aimed at teenage audiences, including American Pie, American Pie 2, Boys and Girls, and American Wedding. By the time Buffy had ended in 2003, Hannigan was earning a $250,000 salary for each episode. She also had a guest spot on the Buffy spin-off, Angel, portraying her role of Willow in a few episodes (including most notably "Orpheus", during Buffy's seventh season), but none after Buffy finished production.
In early 2004, Hannigan made her West End debut, starring in a stage adaptation of When Harry Met Sally... at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, opposite Luke Perry. In 2005, she returned to starring in a regular television series, appearing in the currently-running show, How I Met Your Mother, as Lily, and also playing a recurring guest role on Veronica Mars as Trina Echolls.
In February 2006, Date Movie, in which Hannigan stars as a character meant to be a parody on romantic comedy heroines, was released in theaters.
Hannigan is currently playing Lily, a New York kindergarten teacher and aspiring artist in the CBS situation comedy "How I Met Your Mother".
Hannigan recently presented a Grammy at the 2007 Grammy Awards.
Personal life
Hannigan owns a home in Sacramento, California. She married actor Alexis Denisof (who played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the Buffy franchise) on October 11, 2003. She had previously dated actor Steven Sutphen and Ginger Fish, a drummer for Marilyn Manson.
Hannigan has been incorrectly rumored to have created a sex tape; the person in the tape is not her, but rather adult film actress Luna Lane.
Hannigan has been said to be a natural redhead, which is incorrect. In interviews, she has stated that her hair is actually auburn and mostly brown in color. She has recently colored her hair and it is now a dark brown color.
Trivia
One of Alyson's acting trademarks is her usage of wide-eyed facial expressions for happiness, surprise, or sorrow. In the commentary for the season 2 Buffy episode "Innocence", show creator/writer/director Joss Whedon gives his opinion that "There is nothing more painful in the world than Aly when she makes her big eyes. She makes her big hurt eyes, there's nothing you can do. She just kills you."
Not being homosexual or bisexual herself, she performed the first lesbian sex scene ever on network TV in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Selected filmography
Year Title Role
1988 My Stepmother Is an Alien Jessie Mills
1997-2003 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Willow Rosenberg
1998 Dead Man on Campus Lucy
1999 American Pie Michelle Flaherty
2001 American Pie 2 Michelle Flaherty
2003 American Wedding Michelle Flaherty-Levinstein
2005 How I Met Your Mother (TV series) Lily Aldrin
2005 Veronica Mars (TV series) Trina Echolls
2006 Date Movie Julia Jones
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