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Alyson Hannigan is an actress who portrayed Willow Rosenberg on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

Career[]

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 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 would later join her in the regular cast of Buffy as her on-screen boyfriend. Then in 1989, her first regular role on a TV series came when she was cast in the short-lived ABC sitcom Free Spirit.

In 1997, Hannigan was cast to play Willow Rosenberg on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show became a success, and Hannigan gained recognition, subsequently appearing in several notable films aimed at teenage audiences, including American Pie, American Pie 2, Boys and Girls, and American Wedding. By the time Buffy ended in 2003, Hannigan was earning a US$250,000 salary for each episode. She also had a guest spot on the Buffy spin-off Angel, reprising her role of Willow in a few episodes, but none after Buffy finished production.

Hannigan married past costar Alexis Denisof, who played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in Buffy and Angel, on October 11, 2003.[1]

In early 2004, Hannigan made her West End debut, starring in a stage adaptation of When Harry Met Sally... at Theatre Royal Haymarket, opposite Luke Perry. In 2005, Hannigan returned to starring in a regular television series, appearing in the hit comedy, How I Met Your Mother, as Lily, and also playing a recurring guest role on Veronica Mars as Trina Echolls. In February 2006, Hannigan 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.

In 2012, Hannigan reprised the role of Michelle in American Reunion. Since 2016, Hannigan has hosted the television series Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Hannigan played Ann Possible, Kim's mother, in the Disney Channel original movie Kim Possible (2020), based on the animated series.

Hannigan attended the Entertainment Weekly Cast Reunions: Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2017.

Buffyverse credits[]

Episodes[]

Alyson Hannigan portrayed Willow in 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she and Sarah Michelle Gellar are the only members of the cast to appear in all episodes of the series. Hannigan additionally guest-starring in three episodes of Angel.

She also portrayed Willow in the promotional clips Buffy Lives.

Video games[]

Hannigan voiced Willow in the video game Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Xbox). However, she did not reprized her role in Chaos Bleeds, in which Kari Wahlgren voiced Willow instead.

Featurettes[]

Hannigan also appears in the following featurettes:

Gallery[]

Behind the scenes for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

External links[]

References[]

  1. Stephen M. Silverman, "Buffy's Pals Alyson, Alexis Get Married." PEOPLE.com, October 14, 2003.
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