What She Is Known For

Prior to her breakthrough role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alyson Hannigan was just another struggling actress trapped in small roles in forgettable films. But then Willow Rosenberg (her character on Buffy) was born, and Alyson’s career took off. Her role in the American Pie trilogy only cemented her status as a versatile and endearing actress.

2005 Career Highlight

Alyson re-established her presence on television in 2005, starting with an acclaimed stint on the hit show Veronica Mars (a program that Buffy creator Joss Whedon has repeatedly called his favorite on the air). Her winning streak continued into the fall, with the premiere of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother (also starring Josh Radnor and Neil Patrick Harris).

2006 Career Forecast

Given that How I Met Your Mother continues to deliver superb ratings in its time slot, expect to see more of Alyson on the program. The actress is also scheduled to appear in Date Movie, a new spoof flick from two of the writers of the original Scary Movie. The film, which also stars Eddie Griffin and Carmen Electra, promises to showcase Alyson’s superb comedic abilities.

quote

"Cat in the Hat is fine, but not during sex."

-Alyson Hannigan

biography

Alyson Hannigan was born Allison Lee Hannigan on March 24, 1974, in Washington, D.C. Her parents -- Al, a truck driver, and Emilie, a real estate agent -- divorced in 1976, and Alyson moved to Atlanta. There she attended the Northside School of the Performing Arts, and her early interests included playing the clarinet and soccer. But Alyson was sometimes lonely, regretting that she was an only child.

doing the rounds

Hannigan's first showbiz gig was posing for a Delta ad at age four, and clearly acting was her chosen vocation from the beginning. Ads for McDonald's, Oreo and Six Flags are among her early acting credits. When Alyson was 11, she moved to Los Angeles with her family in order to help further her career.

However, stardom was slow in coming. Alyson's film debut came in the 1988 comedy, My Stepmother Is an Alien, playing Dan Aykroyd's daughter, Jessie Mills. She later had roles on such early-'90s TV fare as Roseanne, Picket Fences, Touched by an Angel, and Almost Home. In 1992, she graduated from North Hollywood High School, and went on to study psychology at California State University.

where there's a willow, there's a way

After a decade of obscurity, Hannigan's big break finally came in 1997. She was hired to replace another actress who had played the part of Willow Rosenberg in the pilot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the new TV series based on the 1992 cult movie of the same name, with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role. As the series took off, so did Hannigan's career, and her character was vamped up (pardon the pun) accordingly. Alyson's "Willow" set the standard for bawdy, nerdy lesbian witches everywhere; so much so that she made appearances on Buffy's popular spin-off, Angel.

In 1999, Hannigan brought herself further attention for a role in the coming-of-age romp, American Pie. Though the movie's producers wanted her for the role of Heather (played by Mena Suvari), Alyson liked the part of Michelle Flaherty, the "band camp girl," because she thought it was funnier. She got the part, upped her profile, and returned for the American Pie sequel in 2001.

life after buffy

In the spring of 2003, Buffy the Vampire Slayer made its final curtain call. The end of the successful series was no surprise to its stars. "We've known for a while even though nothing has been said," Hannigan recently explained. "I think everybody is pretty much feeling it was a good run and it's time to go." As for future Angel appearances or a Willow spin-off, Alyson says it depends, but at the same time, she's anxious to move on.

Whatever the future may hold for her career, her personal life couldn't be better. After a much-publicized fling with Ginger Fish, the drummer for Marilyn Manson -- "just a phase," claims Alyson -- the actress started seeing fellow Angel co-star Alexis Denisof. In 2002, Denisof proposed, and the couple, who recently bought a house in Sacramento, CA, are planning to wed in the fall of 2003. Let's hope the house is a big one, since Alyson has a whole legion of pets, including two cats and three dogs.