How I Met Your Mother, American Pie, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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$30 Million
"There should be a law that there's a pajama day every few weeks." Alyson Hannigan is a famous television actress from Washington D.C. Known primarily for her work on How I Met Your Mother, Hannigan has been plying her trade in the film industry since the late 80s.
With 55 credits to her name and numerous cult classic characters on her resume, Hannigan is one of the most underappreciated performers in television industry. In order to see how Hannigan went from being a bit player in the 90s to starring in one of the biggest shows of the 00s, we had better turn back the clock.
Moving to California
Alyson Hannigan was born on March 24, 1974, in Washington D.C. Her parents were Emilie Haas and Alan Hannigan. Emilie worked as a real estate agent while Hannigan was a Teamsters truck driver. Hannigan has Irish and Jewish ancestry through her parents.
At an early age, Hannigan began to take performing arts seriously. She would appear in commercials as a child performer at the age of four. Before long, her mother would move to Hollywood in order to give Hannigan the greatest chance at finding entertainment success. In Los Angeles, Hannigan attended North Hollywood High School. During her childhood, Hannigan would split time between her home in L.A. and her father's home in Santa Barbara.
After graduating from North Hollywood High School, Hannigan would go on to attend California State University, Northridge. During her time at college, Hannigan was a member of Alpha Chi Omega while pursuing her degree in Psychology.
Making it in Hollywood
While Hannigan had begun acting as a child, she was far from a child actor. Instead, Hannigan slowly immersed herself into the industry. She would score her first major role in the 1988 film, My Stepmother Is an Alien. The film also starred Seth Green. While Hannigan was only 14-years-old, she still managed to showcase some very real skills. Hannigan would go on to land a steady gig on the TV show, Free Spirit (1989). Hannigan would appear in a number of bit parts on television in projects like A Case for Life (1996), Friends for Life (1996), and Dead Man on Campus (1998).
In 1998, everything would change for Hannigan. She would land a major role in the hit comedy, American Pie (1999). At this point in time, Hannigan was in the second year of her seven-year run on the cult classic show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 – 2003). In the cult-classic series, Hannigan portrayed Willow Rosenberg, best friend of the titular Buffy. Hannigan would gain serious mainstream recognition and that would help to propel her work in film. Hannigan would score a role in the American Pie sequel, American Wedding (2003) and she would return for the final film in the series, American Reunion (2012). Hannigan would also appear in the Buffy spin-off show, Angel (2001 – 2003).
After Hannigan had washed her hands of everything related to Buffy, she would find herself staring at the role of a lifetime in How I Met Your Mother (2005). Hannigan would be cast as Lily Aldrin, and she would become a star member of the ensemble cast. During her run on How I Met Your Mother, the program would become one of the most popular shows in America. Hannigan wouldn't slow down with her work, however, as she continued to land minor roles in a number of films. Hannigan would appear in More Time with Family (2014), The First Wives Club (2015), and Men of the House (2018). Most recently, Hannigan has appeared in a number of shows including Fancy Nancy (2018), Pure (2019), and Kim Possible (2019). Hannigan is slated to appear in several developmental projects including Abducted: The Mary Stauffer Story, Flora and Ulysses, and Dodie & Cheryl Get Hitched.
Outside of acting, Hannigan has found success as a television host. She hosted Penn & Teller: Fool Us from 2016 to 2019. The show revolved around upcoming magicians looking to fool Penn and Teller while simultaneously impressing the various hosts on the panel.
As far as her personal life goes, Hannigan has never been one to make waves. What little there is to know about the famous actress revolves around her romance with Alexis Denisof, actor and former co-star on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Hannigan met Denisof while the two had been working on Buffy. They would eventually begin dating before getting married. Their marriage was performed at the Two Bunch Palms Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California, in 2003. Hannigan and Denisof have two children together, Satyana Marie and Keeva Jane. Hannigan lives with her family in Encino, Los Angeles.
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