Alyson Lee Hannigan was born on March 24, 1974 in Washington, D.C. to Albert Hannigan, an American photographer, and Emilie Posner, a Jewish American real estate agent. Her parents were divorced, forcing her mother to raise Alyson alone. She was educated at North Hollywood High School. Hannigan's first major film role was in 1988, in the movie My Stepmother Is an Alien. Her television appearances include Picket Fences, Roseanne and Touched by an Angel. She was cast as Willow Rosenburg in the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After she gained further recognition, she appeared in movies like American Pie, American Pie 2, Boys and Girls, and American Wedding. In 2005, she started starring in How I Met Your Mother and also had a recurring guest role in Veronica Mars.

Willow Rosenburg is played by Alyson Hannigan in the hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Willow is an only child to distant and detached parents, thus growing up as a shy loner. She is usually ridiculed by the more popular kids in school and turns out to be a bright girl, being a fledging hacker and being wooed by a software company. She is also a childhood friend of Xander Harris, on which she has a crush on. Her assets are her intelligence and computer skills. She is also skilled in potion making and spell writing.


(Photo courtesy of WB)