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Amber Benson

Amber Nicole Benson, born on 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.

Early life

Benson was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She had a mixed Christian and Jewish upbringing.

Career

Feature and animation films

While still working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Benson wrote, directed, produced, edited, and acted in a digital video feature called Chance (2002) which also featured James Marsters. After her time on Buffy, Benson began production on a series of animation films for the BBC with co-creator Christopher Golden and animation studio Cosgrove Hall. Ghosts of Albion: Legacy (2003) and its sequels are available on the BBC Cult website. In 2006, Benson released her second independent feature film Lovers, Liars and 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. She is currently working on "Drones", a comedy film, which she is co-directing with Adam Busch.

Writing career: novels and comics

Benson also writes novels and comic books mostly in collaboration 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 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). 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 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. The first book is titled Death's Daughter. Death's Daughter is currently (as of June 2008) listed as an Ace imprint paperback, ISBN 978-0441016945, with a release date of February 24, 2009.

Career: miscellaneous

In 2003, she collaborated 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 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?" 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.

She co-wrote the movie "The Theory of the Leisure Class" in 1997. It co-starred Brad Renfro.

During the 2008 campaign season, Benson was featured in the MoveOn.org-sponsored pro-Obama ad.

Personal life

On the 2000-11-02 episode of the radio show Loveline, Amber (at age 23) revealed that she did not have a driver's license, that her mother drove her to the studio, and stated that she was at the time still a virgin. As of 2007, Benson resides in Los Angeles, California. She is a former vegetarian.

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
Simple Things (2006) - as Sally
Tripping Forward (2006) - as Gwen
Strictly Sexual (2006) - as Donna
Girltrash! (2007) - Svetlana 'Lana' Dragovich
One-Eyed Monster (2007) - as Laura
Act Your Age (2006) - as Julia
Shifter (2008) - as Kimi
Kiss the Bride (2008) - as Elly

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
Long Island Confidential (2008) TV series pilot
7 Things to Do Before I'm 30 (2008) TV movie - Lori Madison

Books in print

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)