Amber Benson

Amber Benson
Benson at Midtown Comics in March 2011.
Born	Amber Nicole Benson (1977-01-08) January 8, 1977 (age 40) Birmingham, Alabama, US
Occupation	Actress, writer, director, producer
Years active	1993–present

Amber Nicole Benson (born January 8, 1977) is an American writer, author, director, producer, and actress. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but has also directed, produced and starred in her own films Chance (2002) and Lovers, Liars & Lunatics (2006). She also co-directed the film Drones with fellow Buffy cast member Adam Busch.

Benson was born January 8, 1977 in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Diane and Edward Benson, a psychiatrist. She has a younger sister, Danielle, who is an artist. Her father is Jewish and her mother was raised Southern Baptist; Benson grew up attending a Reform temple in Alabama.

As a child, Benson studied music and dance, and performed in the Birmingham Children's Ballet, as well as in local theater. She attended high school (one of her classmates being Joey Fatone) in Orlando, Florida after her family moved there, in part to help Amber pursue acting opportunities, the most prominent of which was an unsold television series called Kids' News, in which Amber was to have been one of two main anchors. The Bensons then relocated to Los Angeles, and Amber began to very quickly land roles in films and on television.

Benson was 14 when she made her feature film debut in the Steven Soderbergh film King of the Hill.

Benson is best known for her recurring role as Tara Maclay on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character first appeared in the season 4 episode "Hush" and soon became the lover of Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan). Benson remained with the series until season 6 when her character was killed off. In her final episode, Benson was credited for the only time as a regular cast member.