Alyson Hannigan – Wikipedia

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American actress and television presenter

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Alyson Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress. After starting her career at age four with appearances in commercials, she moved to Hollywood at age 11 and soon got an agent.

Hannigan began her film career with supporting roles in the comedy films Impure Thoughts (1986) and My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), getting a Young Artist Award nomination for the latter. In 1999, she began starring in the American Pie film series as Michelle Flaherty, the films’ primary love interest, appearing in every film in the series from 1999 to 2012. For her role in the series, she was nominated for three Teen Choice Awards and won a Young Hollywood Award. She went on to star in the parody film Date Movie (2006), the slasher film You Might Be the Killer (2018), and the superhero film Flora & Ulysses (2021).

Hannigan got her start in television starring in the short-lived sitcom Free Spirit from 1989 to 1990, for which she earned a Young Artist Award nomination. After several minor roles in television films and other series, she appeared in her breakout role as teenage witch Willow Rosenberg in the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, appearing in every episode from 1997 to 2003. Her role on the show was critically acclaimed and won her the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television and a Teen Choice Award. From 2005 to 2014, she starred as Lily Aldrin in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, for which she won two People’s Choice Awards. Hannigan has hosted the television show Penn & Teller: Fool Us since 2016 and provides the voice of Claire Clancy in the Disney Junior animated series Fancy Nancy (2018–2022).

Early life and education[edit]

Hannigan was born on March 24, 1974[1] in Washington, D.C., the only child of Emilie (Posner) Haas, a real-estate agent, and Alan Hannigan, a Teamsters trucker.[2][3] Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is Jewish.[4][5] At age four, Hannigan began appearing in commercials.[6] She moved to Hollywood at age 11.[3]

Living with her mother and attending North Hollywood High School, she successfully auditioned for agents while visiting her father in Santa Barbara. After 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.[7][8]

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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.[2] 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.[9]

Buffy years[edit]

Hannigan smiling

Hannigan at the Buffy the Vampire Slayer wrap party in 2003

In 1997, Hannigan was cast to play Willow Rosenberg, Buffy Summers’ best friend, on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[10]

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).[2] 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;[11] the Angel episode “Orpheus,” the last in which Hannigan appears, aired March 19, 2003).[12]

Stage, television, and movie work[edit]

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.[13]

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.[14] In February 2006, she starred as Julia Jones in Date Movie, a parody of romantic comedies.[2] She was also a guest star on the ABC animated sitcom The Goode Family in 2009.[15]

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.[16]

In 2012, Hannigan reprised the role of Michelle in American Reunion.[17] Since 2016, Hannigan has hosted the television series Penn & Teller: Fool Us.[18]

Hannigan plays Ann Possible, Kim’s mother, in the Disney Channel original film Kim Possible, based on the animated series.[19]

Personal life[edit]

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 live in Encino, Los Angeles[20] with their two daughters: Satyana Marie, born in March 2009,[1] and Keeva Jane, born in May 2012.[21] Their home was used as a set for This Is Us.[22]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Stage[edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Wihlborg, Ulrica (March 31, 2009). “Alyson Hannigan Welcomes a Daughter!”. People. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d “How I Met Your Mother Cast: Alyson Hannigan”. CBS. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  3. ^ a b “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. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  4. ^ Berson, Elisabeth (November 13, 2013). “10 celebrities you didn’t know were Jewish”. St. Louis Jewish Light. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  5. ^ “Hollywood Now: Alyson Hannigan, Jewish Male Actors, Fall Feature”. September 3, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  6. ^ “Interview: Alyson Hannigan on American Pie”. Scotland on Sunday. April 22, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  7. ^ “Alyson Hannigan profile”. SuperiorPics.com. Retrieved April 18, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ “Alyson Hannigan biography”. Biography.com. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  9. ^ Roy, Norman (April 26, 2012). “It’s Evening in America”. Vanity Fair. p. 158. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  10. ^ “Where Are They Now? Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. People. December 3, 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  11. ^ ““Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Chosen (TV Episode 2003)”. IMDb.
  12. ^ ““Angel” Orpheus (TV Episode 2003)”. IMDb. March 19, 2003.
  13. ^ “When Harry Met Sally, Review by Philip Fisher (2004)”. British Theatre Guide. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  14. ^ “‘Veronica Mars’ scoop”. Chicago Tribune. January 20, 2006. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  15. ^ Harrison, Stacey (July 6, 2009). ““The Goode Family” Recap: Graffiti In Greenville”. Channel Guide Magazine. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018.
  16. ^ Kate Stanhope (October 1, 2009). “Deschanel, Hannigan and Others Cop a Feel for a Cause”. TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 1, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  17. ^ “Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders and ‘Mother’-hood”. USA Today. April 15, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  18. ^ Abrams, Natalie (March 31, 2016). “Alyson Hannigan tapped to host Penn & Teller: Fool Us in season 3”. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  19. ^ Swift, Andy (May 25, 2018). “Kim Possible Movie: Alyson Hannigan Playing Mom, 5 Other Key Roles Cast”. TVLine. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  20. ^ “‘Vampire Slayer’ star Alyson Hannigan settles on contemporary lair in Encino”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  21. ^ “Alyson Hannigan Welcomes Daughter Keeva Jane!”. Us Weekly. June 12, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  22. ^ “Alyson Hannigan Reveals ‘This Is Us’ Used Her Home As a Shooting Location | Entertainment Tonight”. www.etonline.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  23. ^ My Stepmother is an Alien at the American Film Institute Catalog
  24. ^ “Hayley Wagner, Star”.
  25. ^ Petski, Denise (April 3, 2019). “Lifetime Orders 2 Movies: ‘Abduction Of Mary Stauffer’ Starring Alyson Hannigan & ‘Saving Alex’“. Deadline.
  26. ^ Chubb, Hannah (June 3, 2021). “Martha Stewart Gets ‘Down and Dirty’ in New Show with A-List Celeb Friends”. People. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  27. ^ Ossad, Jordana (June 21, 2021). “MTV is About to Get a Dose of Adorableness”. MTV.

External links[edit]

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