Known for bringing a quirky and vibrant personality to many of her characters, Alyson Lee Hannigan first garnered attention for portraying wallflower Willow Rosenberg on the popular WB series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” A former child actor/model, this natural redhead one-upped her TV fame after being cast in the late 1990s teen romp, “American Pie” (1999) as the nice-but-naughty band geek, Michelle.

Born March 24, 1974 in Washington D.C. to Albert Hannigan and Emilie Posner, Hannigan grew up in Atlanta, GA with her real estate agent mother after her parents’ divorced in 1972. The camera loved this auburn-coifed actress from an early age. At only three months old, she was featured in an instructional film, “Active Parenting” (1974). Hannigan began to model as a child, posing for nearly a hundred print advertisements before making the transition into commercial acting. At the age of four, Hannigan landed her first commercial, promoting Duncan Hines cookie mix. She was later featured in a number of national TV commercials, including campaigns for McDonald’s and Oreo cookies. Growing up in Atlanta, Hannigan attended the Northside School of the Performing Arts. With her burgeoning success in commercial acting, the eleven-year-old Hannigan and her mother relocated to Los Angeles so that she could pursue her career more seriously.

Hannigan’s first breakthrough role came in 1988 when she was cast as Dan Aykroyd’s suspicious daughter in the misbegotten comedy, “My Stepmother Is an Alien.” Next, Hannigan landed a regular role on the ABC sitcom, “Free Spirit” (1989-90). She went on to land a number of other small television roles while still in school, including spots on “Roseanne” (ABC, 1988-1997), “The Torkelsons” (NBC, 1991-93), “Touched by an Angel” (CBS, 1994-2003) and “Picket Fences” (CBS, 1992-96). After graduating high school at North Hollywood High in 1992, Hannigan took some time off to attend college at California State University, where she majored in psychology.

Returning to work in 1997, Hannigan landed her biggest break yet – she was cast as Willow Rosenberg, Buffy’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) quirky best friend on the cult Joss Whedon TV series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (WB, 1997-2001; UPN, 2001-03).

With her newfound recognition, Hannigan started landing roles in a number of films geared towards a teenage audience, including “Dead Man on Campus” (1998), in “Boys and Girls” (2000), her biggest film to date – the unexpected teen sex comedy hit, “American Pie” (1999). Playing off her natural geekiness, Hannigan portrayed the sweetly perverted flute-playing band geek Michelle Flaherty opposite Jason Biggs. Hannigan uttered the film franchise’s most infamous line: “One time, at band camp…” culminating in a hilariously x-rated explanation of what really did happen at band camp with that flute. The actress reprised her “Pie” role in the sequels “American Pie 2″ (2001) and later, more prominently in the disappointing “American Wedding” (2003).

Crossing over to the “Buffy” spin-off, “Angel” (WB, 1999-2004), Hannigan reprised her role as Willow Rosenberg, appearing on the series in a number of episodes. In 2004, Hannigan made her stage debut opposite Luke Perry, starring in a stage adaptation of “When Harry Met Sally” at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London’s West End. Returning to series television in 2005, Hannigan guest-starred on “Veronica Mars” (UPN, 2004- ) and landed a regular spot on the CBS sitcom hit “How I Met Your Mother” (2005- ) portraying kindergarten teacher Lily Aldrin. With such a workload, Hannigan found time to return to the big screen in the 2006 send-up of cheesy romantic chick flicks, “Date Movie,” a modest hit.

• Born:
  on 03/24/1974 in Washington, DC
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model

Family

• Father: Albert Hannigan. divorced from Hannigan’s mother c. 1975
• Mother: Emilie Posner. divorced from Hannigan’s father c. 1975

Significant Others

• Companion: Alex Denisof. born c. 1966; also appeared on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”; dating from early 2000; engaged as of December 2002
• Companion: Ginger Fish. drummer with Marilyn Manson; ended relationship c. late 1999

Milestones

• 1974 As a baby, featured in the industrial film “Active Parenting”
• 1978 Landed first commercial for Duncan Hines cookie mix at age four (date approximate)
• 1985 Moved with mother to L.A.
• 1985 While visiting father in Santa Barbara, California, auditioned for agents
• 1988 Feature acting debut in “My Stepmother Is an Alien”
• 1989 TV series debut as regular in the ABC sitcom “Free Spirit”
• 1991 Had featured role as the teenaged sister of one of the young women who were “Switched at Birth” (NBC)
• 1993 Appeared in two episodes of the short-lived ABC sitcom “Almost Home”
• 1997 Played regular role of Willow Rosenberg in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (The WB; 1997-2001; UPN, 2001-2003)
• 1998 Co-starred in the film “Dead Man on Campus”
• 1999 Had featured role in the teen sex comedy “American Pie”
• 2001 Reprised role in the sequel “American Pie 2″
• 2003 Married Jason Bigg’s character in the summer comedy sequel “American Wedding”
• 2004 Appeared with Luke Perry in the London stage version of ”When Harry Met Sally”
• 2005 Cast as Lily on the CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother”
• 2006 Starred in “Date Movie,” the comedy spoof of romantic movies, co-directed and co-wrote by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
• Born in Washington, DC
• Moved to Atlanta, Georgia with mother after parents’ divorce
• Worked as a child model; featured in over 30 commercials and more than 100 print advertisements