Alyson Hannigan

Alyson Hannigan

Biography:

Alyson Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C., to Emilie (Posner), a real estate agent, and Al Hannigan, a truck driver. She began her acting career in Atlanta at the young age of 4 in commercials sponsoring such companies as McDonald's, Six Flags, and Oreos. She is a seasoned television actress veteran, guest starring in Picket Fences(1992), Roseanne (1988), Touched by an Angel (1994) and the The Torkelsons (1991) before starring in her most notorious role yet in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) as "Willow Rosenberg".

She stars in the comedy, How I Met Your Mother (2005), a hit-show from CBS.

More About Alyson Hannigan

Graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1992.

Was a clarinet player in junior high school.

Played soccer until she got an injury in her early teens.

Alyson's parents divorced when she was 2. Her mother is a real estate agent in Atlanta, Georgia, and her father was a truck driver in Missouri.

The producers of American Pie (1999) originally wanted her to play the role of Heather, but she wanted to play the role of Michelle because she thought it was funnier.

Has a tattoo of tribal dolphins on her ankle, a Japanese kanji (for luck and happiness) on her back, and a cartoon turtle on her left foot.

She (along with actresses Tangi Miller and Holly Marie Combs) is a spokesperson for breast cancer, and will appear in a new four page brochure (to be featured in Vogue, Glamour, Self, Mademoiselle, and Women's Sports and Fitness) to raise awareness about the disease. [May 2000]

She co-starred in the television series Free Spirit (1989). The program was about a witch. Interestingly, she has now played a witch on the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).

Married to Alexis Denisof. Denisof proposed during a trip to Northern California wine country during the 2002 holiday season. They were married in October 2003

At age 11 moved from Atlanta, Georgia, to Los Angeles

Her wedding was featured in the February 2004 issue of InStyle Magazine.

Has had two songs recorded about her: "Alyson Hannigan" by Juvenile Wreck, and "This One Time" (named for her famous "This one time, at band camp..." quotes fromAmerican Pie (1999)) by The Malcolm Effect.

She was invited to join the cast of the TV show In the Game (2004), but backed off, citing creative differences. Hannigan was supposed to play the best friend of the character played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, but according to a Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service interview reported January 25, 2005, she was unhappy with the diminished, trivialized role they presented her with. She chose to walk away from the offer.

Portrays the girlfriend of Seth Green's character in two different occasions. First was in the movie My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) and then later in Buffy the Vampire Slayer(1997).

Her father has Irish ancestry. Her maternal grandparents, Jacob Posner and Dorothy Mendel, were born to Russian Jewish immigrant families.

Owns a mansion in Sacramento, California.

Attended California State University in Northridge, California majored in Psychology

Her character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Willow Rosenberg, once mentions that she wrote Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989) fan-fiction as a girl. Hannigan went on to star in How I Met Your Mother (2005) with Neil Patrick Harris, who as a boy played Doogie Howser.

Babysat for Bob Saget's children in her teens. Once went on vacation to Hawaii with his family. Two decades later, they co-starred together in How I Met Your Mother (2005), with Saget playing (the voice of) the older "Ted Mosby" and Hannigan playing younger Ted's best friend's fiancée.

Is Godmother of Joss Whedon's son, Arden, and her husband, Alexis Denisof, is his Godfather.

Good friends with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar andEmma Caulfield.

Used to be a vegan but stopped during her pregnancy.

She introduced Joss Whedon to the music of the band Nerf Herder. This led to Nerf Herder getting the job for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) theme song.

She supports the StubHub's Mom's Night Out program. This program celebrates mothers and works with the Adopt-A-Classroom program.

While working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), she made $60,000 per episode in the series' 7th season.

She made an estimated $8,700,000 in earnings from her work on the series. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).

She has been good friends with Seth Green since they met while filming My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988).

Her favorite episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) is Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hush (1999).

She is related to the drummer of Marilyn Manson, Ginger Fish (aka Kenny Wilson), and also to actor Steven Sutphen.

Friends with How I Met Your Mother (2005) co-star Neil Patrick Harris.

Voted #42 on Ask men's top 99 'most desirable' women of 2012.

Gave birth to her 1st child at age 35, a daughter Satyana Marie Denisof, on March 24, 2009. Child's father is her husband, Alexis Denisof.

Was 8 months pregnant with her daughter Satyana when she completed filming the 4th season of How I Met Your Mother (2005).

Returned to work 4 months after giving birth to her daughter Satyana to begin filming the 5th season of How I Met Your Mother (2005).

Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 38, a daughter Keeva Jane Denisof, on May 23, 2012. Child's father is her husband, Alexis Denisof.

Was 7 months pregnant with her daughter Keeva when she completed filming the 7th season of How I Met Your Mother (2005).

Returned to work 2 months after giving birth to her daughter Keeva in order to begin filming the 8th season of How I Met Your Mother (2005).

She is in London starring in the West End stage adaptation of Nora Ephron's When Harry Met Sally... (1989) , co-starring Luke Perry, which will run in the springtime. Afterwards, she is tentatively set to begin production on her new CBS television series. [March 2004]

When she promoted the final season of How I Met Your Mother (2005) on The Talk(2010), she became teary when asked what she would miss the most about co-starJason Segel and was unable to answer the question. They played husband and wife during nine seasons.

Forbes Magazine calculated her total earning for 2013 to be $8 million. Most of her income was based on her per-episode take at $300,000 for How I Met Your Mother(2005) plus syndication for re-runs of the show.