Date of Birth
24 March 1974, Washington, District of Columbia, USABirth Name
Alyson Lee HanniganNickname
AllycatHeight
5' 6" (1.68 m)Mini Biography
Alyson, born in Washington DC, began her acting career in Atlanta at the young age of 4 in commercials sponsoring such companies as McDonald's, Six Flags, and Oreos. She is a seasoned television actress veteran, guest starring in "Picket Fences" (1992), "Roseanne" (1988), "Touched by an Angel" (1994) and the "The Torkelsons" (1991) before starring in her most notorious role yet in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) as Willow Rosenberg.Now she stars in the brand new comedy "How I Met Your Mother", a hit-show, from CBS.
Spouse
| Alexis Denisof | (11 October 2003 - present) 1 child |
Trivia
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 was 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, a Japanese kanji (for luck and happiness) on her back, and a cartoon turtle on her left foot.
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 has now played 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.
She was invited to join the cast of the TV show In the Game (2004) (TV), 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 on her father's side and Jewish-American on her mother's side, Hannigan was raised in the Jewish faith.
Owns a mansion in Sacramento, California.
Attended California State University in Northridge, California majored in Psychology
Her character on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997), Willow Rosenberg, once mentions that she wrote "Doogie Howser, M.D." (1989) fan-fiction as a girl. Hannigan went on to star in "How I Met Your Mother" (2005) with Neil Patrick Harris, who as a boy played Doogie Howser.
Babysat for Bob Saget's children in her teens. Once went on vacation to Hawaii with his family. Two decades later, they co-starred together in "How I Met Your Mother" (2005), with Saget playing (the voice of) the older "Ted Mosby" and Hannigan playing younger Ted's best friend's fiancée.
Is Godmother of Joss Whedon's son, Arden, and her husband, Alexis Denisof, is his Godfather.
Announced that she is expecting her first child, due Spring 2009. [October 22, 2008].
Good friends with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Used to be a vegan but stopped during her pregnancy.
She and her husband, Alexis Denisof, welcomed a daughter, Satyana Marie Denisof, on Alyson's birthday of March 24, 2009 in Los Angeles.
Personal Quotes
"It was great for a change to share a week's work, rather than being on different projects. With the hours Alexis and I spend on set, you can tend to pass like ships in the night. Weekends, however, are great because we can share precious time together. But when we're at home, I promise you, we certainly don't talk about vampires or suck each other's blood for tea" [On playing the season 4, episode 15, role of "Willow" as a crossover on "Angel" (1999) June 4, 2003].[On her role as the witch "Willow", crossing over from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) to act in the episode "Orpheus" on the series "Angel" (1999), where her fiancé, Alexis Denisof, is a regular:] "I finally get to spend a day with my honey, so that's really nervous coming in. I had butterflies in my stomach. I don't know why I was so nervous -- maybe because I don't know how to pronounce half the lines I have to say today. They're in some made-up language".
"It's like walking around a history book. You have all these beautiful buildings that were built before 1980." - on London
You need to suffer to be interesting.
Nerds are far more interesting human in later life. - on the varying times of "blossoming" for individuals.
