Amber Benson

Overview

Born
January 8, 1977 · Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Birth name
Amber Nicole Benson
Height
5′ 4″ (1.63 m)

Biography

Family

Parents

Trivia

Wrote a comic book based on the characters of Willow and Tara as part of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic books series.
On a "Nerdist" podcast in 2013, Amber Benson said that her mother sometimes sells her childhood memorabilia on eBay. She said that she discovered this when a man approached her at a convention and told her that her mother had sold him her childhood "My Little Pony" dolls. She said that, in addition to finding it distasteful that her mother had sold (and this man had bought) her childhood toys, there was also the problem that was that the "Ponys" had belonged to her sister, not her.
According to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) producer Marti Noxon, series creator Joss Whedon originally rejected her for the role of "Tara", feeling she wasn't the proper physical type. But Noxon insisted that she be allowed to read for the part again, and it was at the second audition that Whedon realized she would be perfect for the part.
She sang on two tracks of fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) co-star, Anthony Head's solo CD project, "Music for Elevators".
In 2001, at the age of just 24, Amber directed, wrote, produced and starred in her own movie called Chance (2002). It was presented at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002.

Quotes

If I wasn't an actress I'd want to be a writer or else find a job where I got to read books and watch movies all day, everyday, for the rest of my life.
"I would love to develop my career on both sides of the camera in the way Woody Allen has done down the years." [Glasgow Evening Times, 22 January 2003].
[About her role as the lesbian "Tara" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997):] I got letters from girls saying that I changed their lives and I met people who would cry about it, and that had such an impact on me. You don't realise what an impact television has on people. But when you get letters from young girls saying, 'I came out and I have a girlfriend now because of you', it's great.
[on her movie Chance (2002):] The film was a while in coming. I spent a lot of time in my trailer on "Buffy" because they do so many stunts and CGI effects, so I'd just sit and write. I was tired of playing the love interest roles, but that's all that's written for women usually. "Buffy"'s the exception to that, but those kind of characters are few and far between, so I thought I'd better write one for myself. [Irish News, 27 January 2003]
[waxing philosophical about "Tara" not returning to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) in Season 7, so that Azura Skye took the part:] They did approach me about coming back, but because my schedule has been so hectic they were having a hard time working everything out. Then, it turned out that the character was going to be bad and I just didn't want to do that to the fans. Too many people like her and they've already been traumatised by "Tara" getting killed [January 27, 2003].