Amber Benson

Amber Nicole Benson (born January 8, 1977) is an American actress, writer, film director, and film producer. 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 is also co-director with Adam Busch of the upcoming film Drones.

Benson was born in Birmingham, Alabama to Edward Benson, a psychiatrist, and Diane Benson. She has a younger sister, Danielle, who is an artist. She had a mixed Christian and Jewish upbringing.

As a child, Amber 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. —wikipedia