Lily Aldrin

Lily Aldrin
How I Met Your Mother character
Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	"Last Forever"
Created by	Carter Bays Craig Thomas
Portrayed by	Alyson Hannigan Francesca Capaldi (7-years-old)
Information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Kindergarten teacher (2005-2013), art consultant (2013-present).
Family	Mickey Aldrin (father) Janice Aldrin (mother)
Spouse(s)	Marshall Eriksen (2007-present)
Children	Marvin Eriksen Daisy Eriksen Third Unnamed Child
Relatives	Lois (maternal grandmother) Rita (paternal grandmother) Morris (paternal grandfather) Amy (cousin) Marvin Eriksen (father-in-law, deceased) Judy (née Gunderson) Eriksen (mother-in-law, possible step-mother) Martin Eriksen (brother-in-law) Marcus Eriksen (brother-in-law) Olaf (grandfather-in-law, deceased) Martin Eriksen, Jr. (nephew-in-law)

Lily Aldrin is a fictional character in the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother. Lily is portrayed by American actress Alyson Hannigan. She is the wife of Marshall Eriksen and the best friend of Ted Mosby, Robin Scherbatsky and Barney Stinson. Lily is a kindergarten teacher and an amateur painter. In the eighth season, she gets a job as an art consultant. Lily is also the only member of the original main cast of the series who has not appeared in every episode, due to Alyson Hannigan taking leave after giving birth to her first child.

Series creator Craig Thomas explained that he based Marshall and Lily on himself and his wife Rebecca. Rebecca had been upset after learning this, but (as she is a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) was consoled when Alyson Hannigan was put in the role. Hannigan was looking to do more comedy work after having worked on the American Pie series and was available for the show.

Lily Aldrin grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. She is the daughter of Janice Aldrin, whom Lily describes as a feminist and who worked two jobs to support the family. The creators stated in commentary that there is no evidence to the contrary that Lily's grandfather is astronaut Buzz Aldrin - and like Buzz Aldrin, her grandfather is said to have fought in the Korean War. Lily's father, Mickey, is an unsuccessful board game creator living in his parents' basement. Janice and Mickey divorced when Lily was a child. Lily is estranged from her father - an absentee parent who she claims "broke my heart every day for 20 years" - until he promises to be there for her following the birth of her son.