Alyson Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress. She currently plays Lily Aldrin in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, but is also well known for her previous role as Willow Rosenberg on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also played flutist Michelle Flaherty in the American Pie film series.

Biography

Early life

Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Emilie Posner, a real estate agent, and Al Hannigan, a truck driver.^[1][2] Hannigan is Jewish on her mother's side,^[3] and also has Irish ancestry.^[4] 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 was not 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. After attending North Hollywood High School she attended California State University, Northridge.

Career

Hannigan outside the stage door after When Harry Met Sally... in London, in May 2004.

In 1997, Hannigan was cast to play Willow Rosenberg, Buffy's best friend, on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (replacing Riff Regan, who played Willow in the unaired 25-minute pilot). 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. 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, 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 on romantic comedies.

Personal life

Hannigan and husband Alexis Denisof

Filmography

References

External links

• The Indy Channel interview (February 15 2006)
• Sun Times interview (July 21 2005)

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