| Alyson Hannigan was born Allison Lee Hannigan on March 24, 1974, in Washington, D.C. Her parents -- Al, a truck driver, and Emilie, a real estate agent -- divorced in 1976, and Alyson moved to Atlanta. There she attended the Northside School of the Performing Arts, and her early interests included playing the clarinet and soccer. But Alyson was sometimes lonely, regretting that she was an only child.
Hannigan's first showbiz gig was posing for a Delta ad at age four, and clearly acting was her chosen vocation from the beginning. Ads for McDonald's, Oreo and Six Flags are among her early acting credits. When Alyson was 11, she moved to Los Angeles with her family in order to help further her career.
However, stardom was slow in coming. Alyson's film debut came in the 1988 comedy, My Stepmother Is an Alien, playing Dan Aykroyd's daughter, Jessie Mills. She later had roles on such early-'90s TV fare as Roseanne, Picket Fences, Touched by an Angel, and Almost Home. In 1992, she graduated from North Hollywood High School, and went on to study psychology at California State University.
After a decade of obscurity, Hannigan's big break finally came in 1997. She was hired to replace another actress who had played the part of Willow Rosenberg in the pilot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the new TV series based on the 1992 cult movie of the same name, with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role. As the series took off, so did Hannigan's career, and her character was vamped up (pardon the pun) accordingly. Alyson's "Willow" set the standard for bawdy, nerdy lesbian witches everywhere; so much so that she made appearances on Buffy's popular spin-off, Angel.
In 1999, Hannigan brought herself further attention for a role in the coming-of-age romp, American Pie. Though the movie's producers wanted her for the role of Heather (played by Mena Suvari), Alyson liked the part of Michelle Flaherty, the "band camp girl," because she thought it was funnier. She got the part, upped her profile, and returned for the American Pie sequel in 2001.
In the spring of 2003, Buffy the Vampire Slayer made its final curtain call. The end of the successful series was no surprise to its stars. "We've known for a while even though nothing has been said," Hannigan recently explained. "I think everybody is pretty much feeling it was a good run and it's time to go." As for future Angel appearances or a Willow spin-off, Alyson says it depends, but at the same time, she's anxious to move on.
Whatever the future may hold for her career, her personal life couldn't be better. After a much-publicized fling with Ginger Fish, the drummer for Marilyn Manson -- "just a phase," claims Alyson -- the actress started seeing fellow Angel co-star Alexis Denisof. In 2002, Denisof proposed, and the couple, who recently bought a house in Sacramento, CA, are planning to wed in the fall of 2003. Let's hope the house is a big one, since Alyson has a whole legion of pets, including two cats and three dogs. |
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 is 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, and a japanese kanji, for luck and happiness, on her back.
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 now plays 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 from American Pie (1999)) by The Malcolm Effect.
Has worked with actor Jason Biggs four times - American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001), American Wedding (2003), and Boys and Girls (2000).
She was invited to join the cast of the TV show _"In the Game" (2005)_ , but begged 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).
Irish-American
Owns a mansion in Sacramento, California. |
