Allison Lee Denisof (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress, best known as Michelle Flaherty in American Pie, Willow Rosenberg on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lily Aldrin on How I Met Your Mother. She's currently the host of Penn & Teller: Fool Us.
She had small roles in films like My Stepmother Is an Alien (as the daughter) and Dead Man on Campus before her breakout film role as Michelle Flaherty in American Pie, where she shocked everyone with the now-infamous "band camp" line. The world was never the same after that moment. It's always the quiet ones.
Married to her former Buffy co-star Alexis Denisof, and they have two children, Satyana and Keeva (both names from Denisof's Russian heritage). Her daughters seem to have taken up their mother's banner of truly ridiculous levels of cute
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This actress provides examples of:
- Creator Backlash: Like many of the series' fans, Hannigan wasn't happy at all with how How I Met Your Mother ended, saying it was "like slapping [the fans] in the face." She's also said that she was never happy with the Barney and Robin pairing, feeling it complicated the Ted and Robin relationship too much.
- Fascinating Eyebrow: Her right eyebrow is slightly higher than her left, making this a permanent look for her.
- Playing Against Type: Her roles as Winter and Claire Clancy are definitely more laid back and softer than what she's known for.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: She can pull off the vulnerable look very well.
- Marshall in How I Met Your Mother - "she's all eyes and boobs".Joss Whedon: There is nothing more painful in the world than Aly when she makes her big eyes. She makes her big, hurt eyes, there's nothing you can do. She just kills you.
- Lampshaded in a Empowered strip. She makes the demonwolf, violator of the worlds, cry.Thugboy: Man! That Alyson Hannigan's a friggin' menace!.
- Marshall in How I Met Your Mother - "she's all eyes and boobs".
