Amber Benson
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
| Amber Benson | |
 Amber Benson at the Buffy "wrap party" in 2003. |
|
| Birth name | Amber Nicole Benson |
| Born | January 8, 1977 (age 31) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Notable roles | Tara Maclay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
Amber Nicole Benson( b. 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.
Contents |
[change] Early life
Benson was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She had a mixed Christian and Jewish upbringing.[1][2]
[change] Career
[change] Feature and animation films
While still working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Benson wrote, directed, produced, edited, and acted in a movie called Chance (2002). The movie also featured her Buffy co-star James Marsters. After her time on Buffy, Benson began working on a series of animated movies for the BBC with co-creator Christopher Golden and animation company Cosgrove Hall. Ghosts of Albion: Legacy (2003) and its sequels are available on the BBC Cult website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ghosts/legacy/). In 2006, Benson released her second movie Lovers, Liars and Lunatics through her own production company, Benson Entertainment. The movie was shot on film and was partly payed for by the sale of special action figures of her character Tara from the Buffy episode Triangle.
[change] Writing career: novels and comics
Benson also writes novels and comic books. She usually writes these with Christopher Golden. In 2003, 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. During the same year, 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. In 2005, Benson worked with artist Jamie McKelvie on a short story for the Image Comics collection Four Letter Worlds. In 2006, Benson worked with artist Ben Templesmith on Demon Father John’s Pinwheel Blues published by IDW. Benson and Golden have also worked together on two supernatural thrillers: Ghosts of Albion: Accursed and Ghosts of Albion: Witchery. These books follow the stories of Tamara and William Swift, characters from the BBC computer animated web movie Ghosts of Albion: Legacy. In September of 2007, Benson signed a three-book deal with Penguin Books. The first book is believed to be titled Death's Daughter.
[change] Career: miscellaneous
In 2003, she worked with director James Kerwin to produce her play, Albert Hall, in Hollywood.
Benson sang in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode "Once More, With Feeling". She sang on 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?" 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.
[change] Personal life
On the November 11, 2000 episode of the radioshow Loveline, Amber (at age 23) said that she did not have a driver's license, that her mother drove her to the studio. She also said that she was at the time still a virgin.[1][3] As of 2007, Benson resides in Los Angeles, California. And she is a vegetarian.[4]
[change] Filmography
- King of the Hill (1993 film; not the TV series) - as Ella McShane
- The Crush (1993) - as Cheyenne
- S.F.W. (1994) - as Barbara 'Babs' Wyler
- Imaginary Crimes (1994) - as Margaret
- Bye Bye Love (1995) - as Meg Damico
- Can't Hardly Wait (1998) - as Stephanie, the Stoned Banana-holding Girl (scenes deleted from the final cut)
- Take It Easy (1999) - as Justy
- Deadtime (1999) - as Patty
- The Prime Gig (2000) - as Batgirl
- Hollywood, Pennsylvania (2001) - as Mandy Calhoun
- Don's Plum (2001) - as Amy
- Taboo (2002) - as Piper
- Chance (2002) - as Chance
- Latter Days (2003) - as Traci Levine
- Intermedio (2005) - as Barbie
- Race You to the Bottom (2005) - as Maggie
- Lovers, Liars & Lunatics (2006) - as Justine
- Angst (2006) - as Julia
- Simple Things (2006) - as Sally
- Tripping Forward (2006) - as Gwen
- Strictly Sexual (2006) - as Donna
- Girltrash! (2007) - Svetlana 'Lana' Dragovich
- Kiss the Bride (2007) - as Elly
- One-Eyed Monster (2007) - as Laura
- Shifter (2008) - as Kimi
[change] Television
(Includes made-for-TV movies and TV series)
- Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993) TV movie - Nicole Reed
- Jack Reed: A Search for Justice (1994) TV movie - Nicole Reed
- Jack Reed: One of Our Own (1995) TV movie - Nicole Reed
- Promised Land (1998) TV series - Amy Farnsworth (episode titled "Out of Bounds")
- Cracker (1999) TV series - Amy (episode titled "The Club")
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (in 1999-2002 seasons) TV series - Tara Maclay
- The Enforcers (2001) TV miniseries - Abby
- Cold Case (2004) TV series - Julia Hoffman (episode titled "Volunteers")
- The Inside (2005) TV series - Allison Davis (episode titled "The Perfect Couple")
- Supernatural (2006) TV series - Lenore (episode titled "Bloodlust")
- Holiday Wishes (2006) TV movie - Danni Hartford
- Gryphon (2007) TV movie - Princess Amelia of Lockland
[change] Books in print
[change] Ghosts of Albion
- Accursed (with Christopher Golden) (Del Rey, 2005)
- Witchery (with Christopher Golden) (Del Rey, 2006)
- The Ghosts of Albion Roleplaying Game (with Timothy S. Brannan and Christopher Golden) (Eden Studios, 2007)
[change] Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow & Tara (2003)
- WannaBlessedBe (with Christopher Golden)
- Wilderness, Part 1 (with Christopher Golden)
- Wilderness, Part 2 (with Christopher Golden)
[change] Other
- Shadowplay #1-4 (with Ben Templesmith) (2006)
- The Seven Whistlers (with Christopher Golden) (2006)
[change] Footnotes
- ↑ Amber chatted at Yahoo! on Thursday, March 8, 2001. Here's the transcript, provided by Coax, sans chat typos. The Essence of Amber (2001-03-08). Retrieved on 13 December 2006.
- ↑ Bloom, Nate. "Celebrity Jews", Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, 2003-06-06. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
- ↑ Partial transcript of Loveline appearance on 11/02/2000. The Loveline Companion. Retrieved on 26 January 2007.
- ↑ http://www.goveg.com/feat/sexiestveg2007/
[change] Other websites
- Amber Benson at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Amber Benson - amberbenson.net
- Interview at Flames Rising (October 2005)
- Interview at LesbiaNation.com (May 2007)
- Interview at SlayerLit
