Amber Benson

Amber Nicole Benson (born January 8, 1977) is an American actress, singer, writer, director, and producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1999–2002), and has also directed, produced and starred in her own films ''Chance'' (2002) and '' Lovers, Liars & Lunatics'' (2006). She also starred in the movie '' Kiss the Bride'' (2007). She co-directed the film '' Drones'' (2010) with fellow ''Buffy'' cast member Adam Busch. Benson also starred as a waitress in the horror movie ''The Killing Jar'' (2010).

Early life

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 synagogue 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 very quickly began to land roles in films and on television.

Career

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 girlfriend 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.

Benson sang in the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' musical episode " Once More, with Feeling". She provided vocals for the songs "I've Got a Theory/ Bunnies/If We're Together", "Under Your Spell" (her solo), "Walk Through the Fire", "Standing/Under Your Spell (Reprise)", and "Where Do We Go from Here?" In 2002, she performed two songs on Buffy colleague Anthony Stewart Head's album '' Music for Elevators''. She also sang "Toucha Toucha Touch Me" (aka "Creature of the Night") at VH-1's celebrity karaoke tribute to ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''.

While still working on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', Benson co-wrote the movie ''The Theory of the Leisure Class'' with director Gabriel Bologna, released in 2001, and directed, produced, edited, and acted in a digital video feature called ''Chance'' (2002) which also featured her ''Buffy'' co-star James Marsters. She also collaborated with director James Kerwin in 2003 to produce her play ''Albert Hall'' in Hollywood.

In 2001, Benson worked with Golden, Terry Moore, and Eric Powell of Dark Horse Comics to create the '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Tara'' comic book titled "WannaBlessedBe". The following year (2002), she worked with Christopher Golden and AJ (Ajit Jothikaumar) of Dark Horse Comics to create the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Tara'' comic books titled ''Wilderness #1'' and ''Wilderness #2''.

Benson and Christopher Golden produced and began a series of animated fantasy films for the BBC with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall. '' Ghosts of Albion: Legacy'' (2003) and its sequels are available on the BBC Cult website. Benson and Golden have also collaborated on two supernatural thrillers: ''Ghosts of Albion: Accursed'' and ''Ghosts of Albion: Witchery''. These books follow the fortunes of Tamara and William Swift, who first appeared in the BBC computer animated web movie '' Ghosts of Albion: Legacy''.

In 2003, she had a supporting role in ''Latter Days'' as Traci Levine, alongside Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey.

In 2005, Benson collaborated with artist Jamie McKelvie on a short story within the Image Comics collection ''Four Letter Worlds''. In 2006, Benson collaborated with artist Ben Templesmith on ''Demon Father John's Pinwheel Blues'' published by IDW as a four-part split-book, ''Shadowplay'' (with work by Ashley Wood and Christina Z.

In 2006, Benson released her second independent feature film '' Lovers, Liars & Lunatics'' through her own production company, Benson Entertainment. The film was shot on film and was partly financed by the sale of limited edition "Triangle" Tara Buffyverse action figure. The project, initially called "The Dirty Script," was ultimately titled ''Lovers, Liars and Lunatics'' by producer Diane Benson, Amber's mother.

In 2006, Benson also portrayed the "vegetarian" vampiress Lenore on the TV series ''Supernatural''.

In December 2006, Benson and Golden released yet another collaboration, the short novel ''The Seven Whistlers'' which is distributed through Subterranean Press in a limited number of signed copies. In September 2007, Benson signed a three-book deal with Ginjer Buchanan of Penguin Books

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