Alyson Hannigan Biography

Alyson Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Willow Rosenberg in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997"2003), Lily Aldrin on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005"present) and Michelle Flaherty in the American Pie film series (1999"present).

Early life

Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C. She is the only child of Emilie (Posner) Haas, a real estate agent, and Al Hannigan, a truck driver. Her father is of Irish descent and her mother is Jewish. Her parents divorced when she was two and she was raised mostly by her mother in Atlanta, Georgia.

Career

1978"1996

At age four, Hannigan began appearing in commercials. She moved to Hollywood at age 11. Living with her mother and attending North Hollywood High School, she successfully auditioned for agents while visiting her father in Santa Barbara. After attending North Hollywood High School, she attended California State University, Northridge where she earned a degree in psychology.

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 later joined her in the regular cast of Buffy as her on-screen boyfriend. Then in 1989, her first regular role on a TV series came when she was cast in the short-lived ABC sitcom Free Spirit. As a teenager, Hannigan babysat for the kids of Bob Saget, who later narrated her TV series, How I Met Your Mother.

1997"present

In 1997, Hannigan was cast to play Willow Rosenberg, Buffy Summers' best friend, on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show became a 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. She also had a guest spot on the Buffy spin-off, Angel, reprising her role of Willow in a few episodes (including most notably "Orpheus," during the fourth season of Angel and the seventh season of Buffy), 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, Hannigan returned to starring in a regular television series, appearing in the hit comedy How I Met Your Mother as Lily, and also playing a recurring guest role on Veronica Mars as Trina Echolls. In February 2006, Hannigan starred as Julia Jones in Date Movie, a parody of romantic comedies. She was also a guest star on the ABC animated sitcom The Goode Family in 2009.

Hannigan joined forces with Emily Deschanel, Jaime King, Minka Kelly, and Katharine McPhee in a "video slumber party" featured on FunnyorDie.com to promote regular breast cancer screenings for the organization Stand Up 2 Cancer.

In 2012, Hannigan reprised the role of Michelle in American Reunion.

Personal life

Hannigan married fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor Alexis Denisof at Two Bunch Palms Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California, on October 11, 2003. The couple has two daughters, Satyana Marie Denisof, born March 24, 2009, and Keeva Jane Denisof, born May 23, 2012. Hannigan and her husband are godparents to Joss Whedon's son, Arden.

Stalking

On February 13, 2013, Hannigan was granted a temporary restraining order against New Hampshire resident John Hobbs after he began sending her threatening and obsessive messages via internet, wishing to meet and possibly kill her. On March 6, 2013, the restraining order was extended to last for an additional 3 years.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Impure Thoughts	Patty Stubbs	As Allison Hannigan
1988	My Stepmother Is an Alien	Jessie Mills
1991	Switched at Birth	Gina Twigg, Age 13"16	TV movie
1995	The Stranger Beside Me	Dana	TV movie
1996	A Case for Life	Iris	TV movie
1996	For My Daughter's Honor	Kelly	TV movie
1998	Dead Man on Campus	Lucy
1999	Hayley Wagner, Star	Jenna Jakes	TV movie
1999	American Pie	Michelle Flaherty
2000	Boys and Girls	Betty
2001	American Pie 2	Michelle Flaherty
2001	Beyond the City Limits	Lexi
2003	American Wedding	Michelle Flaherty
2004	Americana	Andrea	TV movie
2005	In the Game	Unknown	TV series
2006	Date Movie	Julia Jones
2011	Love, Wedding, Marriage	Courtney
2012	American Reunion	Michelle Flaherty-Levenstein

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989"1990	Free Spirit	Jessie Harper	Main role; 14 episodes
1990	Roseanne	Jan	Episode: "Like, a New Job"
1993	Almost Home	Samantha	2 episodes
1994	Touched by an Angel	Cassie Peters	Episode: "Cassie's Choice"
1996	Picket Fences	Peggy Patterson	Episode: "To Forgive Is Devine"
1996	Friends for Life	Emma Daniels	Unaired TV pilot
1997"2003	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Willow Rosenberg	Main role; 144 episodes
1999"2000	100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd	Gigi	2 episodes
2000	'	Gerda	Episode: "Every Little Bit Alps"
2001"2003	Angel	Willow Rosenberg	3 episodes
2004	That '70s Show	Suzy Simpson	2 episodes
2004	King of the Hill	Stacey Gibson	Episode: "Talking Shop"
2005	Veronica Mars	Trina Echolls	3 episodes
2005"present	How I Met Your Mother	Lily Aldrin	Main Role
2009	'	Michelle	Episode: "Graffiti in Greenville"
2011	'	Melody	Episode: "Flaming Moe"
2011	American Dad!	Chelsea	2 episodes
2013	Hollywood Game Night	Herself	Episode: "The One With the Friends"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1989	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture: Comedy or Fantasy	My Stepmother Is an Alien
1990	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series	Free Spirit
2000	Young Hollywood Awards	Best Ensemble Cast	American Pie
2000	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Sidekick	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2001	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress on Television	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2001	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Sidekick	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2002	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress on Television	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2002	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actress " Television Series	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2002	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Sidekick	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2003	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress on Television	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Sidekick	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2004	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress " Comedy	American Wedding
2004	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Liplock (shared with Jason Biggs)	American Wedding
2008	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Show: Comedy	How I Met Your Mother
2010	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy Actress	How I Met Your Mother
2012	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Comedy	How I Met Your Mother
2012	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Romantic Comedy	American Reunion
2012	People's Choice Award	Favorite TV Comedy Actress	How I Met Your Mother