Alyson Hannigan

American actress and television presenterTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actress and television presenter[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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* *How I Met Your Mother*
* *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*
* *Penn & Teller: Fool Us*
* *Fancy Nancy*

**Alyson Lee Hannigan** (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress and television presenter. She is best known for her roles as Willow Rosenberg in the television series *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* (1997–2003), Lily Aldrin in the sitcom *How I Met Your Mother* (2005–2014) for which she won a People's Choice Award in 2009, and Michelle Flaherty in the *American Pie* film series (1999–2012). Since 2016, Hannigan has presented the television show *Penn & Teller: Fool Us*.

## Early life

Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C., the only child of Emilie (Posner) Haas, a real estate agent, and Alan Hannigan, a Teamsters trucker. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is Jewish.

### Childhood and early work

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 was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and 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. 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 children of her future *How I Met Your Mother* costar, Bob Saget.

### *Buffy* years

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 films aimed at teenaged audiences, including *American Pie* (1999), *Boys and Girls* (2000), *American Pie 2* (2001), and *American Wedding* (2003). 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 (the final episode of *Buffy* aired May 20, 2003; the *Angel* episode "Orpheus," the last in which Hannigan appears, aired March 19, 2003).

### Stage, television, and movie work

 File:Magician Kyle Marlett on The CW's Penn & Teller Fool Us with Penn Jillette and Alyson Hannigan with cards.jpg
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, taking the main role of Lily Aldrin in the hit comedy *How I Met Your Mother*, and also playing a recurring guest role on *Veronica Mars* as Trina Echolls. In February 2006, she 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*. Since 2016, Hannigan has hosted the television series *Penn & Teller: Fool Us*.

Hannigan plays Ann Possible, Kim's mother, in the Disney Channel original movie *Kim Possible*, based on the animated series.

## Personal life

Hannigan married her *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* and *Angel* co-star Alexis Denisof at Two Bunch Palms Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California, on October 11, 2003. The couple lives in Encino, Los Angeles with their two daughters: Satyana Marie, born in March 2009, and Keeva Jane, born in May 2012.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:Cite magazine
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "How I Met Your Mother Cast: Alyson Hannigan". *CBS*. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. http://web.archive.org/web/20140331180128/http://cbs.com/shows/how\_i\_met\_your\_mother/cast/61492. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Former Atlantan Alyson Hannigan interview for 'How I Met Your Mother'". *The Atlanta Journal-Constitution*. September 21, 2009. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222132144/http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2009/09/21/former-atlantan-alyson-hannigan-interview-for-how-i-met-your-mother. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
4. ↑ "Film Reference Alyson Hannigan biodata". Filmreference.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100210084454/http://www.filmreference.com/film/58/Alyson-Hannigan.html. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
5. ↑ Berson, Elisabeth (November 13, 2013). "10 celebrities you didn't know were Jewish". Retrieved on May 21, 2018.
6. ↑ "Hollywood Now: Alyson Hannigan, Jewish Male Actors, Fall Feature". http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts\_and\_entertainment/popular\_culture/Hollywood\_Now\_Alyson\_Hannigan\_Jewish\_Male\_Actors\_Fall\_Features.shtml. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
7. ↑ "Interview: Alyson Hannigan on American Pie" (April 22, 2012). Retrieved on June 12, 2012.
8. ↑ "Alyson Hannigan profile". SuperiorPics.com. http://www.superiorpics.com/alyson\_hannigan. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
9. ↑ "Alyson Hannigan biography". Biography.com. http://www.biography.com/people/alyson-hannigan-17149162. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
10. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
11. ↑ "Where Are They Now? Buffy the Vampire Slayer". *People*. December 3, 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202164519/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20170817,00.html. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
12. ↑ Template:Citeweb
13. ↑ Template:Citeweb
14. ↑ "When Harry Met Sally, Review by Philip Fisher (2004)". British Theatre Guide. http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/harrysally-rev.htm. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
15. ↑ "'Veronica Mars' scoop" (January 20, 2006). Retrieved on June 12, 2012.
16. ↑ Harrison, Stacey (July 6, 2009). ""The Goode Family" Recap: Graffiti In Greenville" (in en-US), *Channel Guide Magazine*.
17. ↑ Kate Stanhope (October 1, 2009). "Deschanel, Hannigan and Others Cop a Feel for a Cause", *TV Guide*. Retrieved on October 1, 2009. Archived from the original on October 1, 2009.
18. ↑ "Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders and 'Mother'-hood". *USA Today*. April 15, 2012. https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-04-04/how-i-met-your-mother-alyson-hannigan-cobie-smulders/54301680/1. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
19. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
20. ↑ Swift, Andy (May 25, 2018). "Kim Possible Movie: Alyson Hannigan Playing Mom, 5 Other Key Roles Cast". http://tvline.com/2018/05/25/kim-possible-movie-cast-first-photo-alyson-hannigan/. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
21. ↑ "'Vampire Slayer' star Alyson Hannigan settles on contemporary lair in Encino", *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved on January 1, 2017.
22. ↑ "Alyson Hannigan Welcomes Daughter Keeva Jane!". *Us Weekly*. June 12, 2012. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/alyson-hannigan-welcomes-daughter-keeva-jane-2012126#ixzz1xbvJenq2. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
23. ↑ Template:AFI film
24. ↑ "Alyson Hannigan to Star in ABC Comedy From Kerry Washington" (in en), *The Hollywood Reporter*.
25. ↑ Petski, Denise (April 3, 2019). "Lifetime Orders 2 Movies: 'Abduction Of Mary Stauffer' Starring Alyson Hannigan & 'Saving Alex'". https://deadline.com/2019/04/lifetime-orders-abduction-of-mary-stauffer-movie-starring-alyson-hannigan-saving-alex-1202587289/.

## External links

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