Amber Benson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amber Benson
Benson in 2012
Born	(1977-01-08) January 8, 1977 (age 48) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation	Actress writer director producer
Years active	1992–present

Amber Benson (born January 8, 1977) is an American actress, writer, director, and producer. She is famous for playing Tara Maclay in the popular TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Besides acting, Benson is also a talented creator. She has directed and produced her own movies, including Chance (2002) and Lovers, Liars & Lunatics (2006). She has also starred in other films like Kiss the Bride (2007) and co-directed the movie Drones (2010) with Adam Busch, who was also on Buffy.

Early Life and First Movie

Amber Benson was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Her father, Edward, was a psychiatrist, and her mother was named Diane. She has a younger sister named Danielle, who is an artist. Benson grew up attending a Reform synagogue.

She started her acting career at a young age. When she was just 14, she appeared in her first big movie, King of the Hill, directed by the famous Steven Soderbergh.

Career Highlights

Playing Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Benson at a 2005 Buffy the Vampire Slayer convention

Benson's most famous role was playing Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her character first showed up in the fourth season in an episode called "Hush".

Tara became the girlfriend of another main character, Willow Rosenberg (played by Alyson Hannigan). Benson was part of the show until the sixth season. In her last episode, she was listed as a main cast member for the first time.

Benson also showed off her singing skills in the special musical episode of Buffy, called "Once More, with Feeling". She sang on several songs in the episode, including her own solo, "Under Your Spell".

Writing and Directing

Benson at a Buffy the Vampire Slayer wrap party in 2003

Even while working on Buffy, Benson was busy with other creative projects. She co-wrote a movie called The Theory of the Leisure Class in 2001. A year later, she directed, produced, and starred in her own movie called Chance. Her Buffy co-star James Marsters was also in it.

She has also written books and comics. She worked with Dark Horse Comics to create comics about her and Willow's characters from Buffy. With author Christopher Golden, she created a series of animated movies for the BBC called Ghosts of Albion. They also wrote books based on the series.

In 2006, she released another movie she directed called Lovers, Liars & Lunatics. She started her own company, Benson Entertainment, to produce it.

Other Acting Roles

Benson and novelist Anton Strout during an appearance at the Midtown Comics Downtown in Manhattan on March 5, 2011

Benson has appeared in many other movies and TV shows. In 2006, she played a friendly vampire named Lenore in the TV show Supernatural. She also had roles in movies like Latter Days (2003) and The Killing Jar (2010).

She has also done voice acting. In 2014, she narrated the audiobook for Lock In by author John Scalzi. More recently, in 2023, she joined many of her old Buffy castmates for an audio drama called Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, which she also co-wrote. In 2024, she narrated two audiobooks in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series.

Speaking Out

Benson uses her voice to support causes she believes in. During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, she appeared in an ad for Barack Obama.

In 2021, she supported her Buffy co-star Charisma Carpenter, who spoke up about her difficult experiences on the set of the show. Benson agreed that the set was a "toxic environment" and said it was important to talk about such problems.

Personal Life

As of 2007, Benson was living in Los Angeles. She has described herself as a "lapsed vegetarian," meaning she used to be a vegetarian but is not as strict about it anymore.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Amber Benson para niños