Biography Please do not reproduce this biography. It was written specifically for this website with exclusive information and quotes from Amber herself. Stars can be reached. Dreams can be achieved. Lives can be touched. Amber is living proof of this. She is a smiling face and a caring soul, an amazing talent and a wonderful friend. There is no end to the inspiration she can provide for anyone at all. On January 8th, 1977, Amber Nicole Benson came into this world -- more specifically, she was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She enjoyed her childhood there, happily giggling, "I would go back to being a child in two seconds flat!" At a young age, she began studying various aspects of the performing arts such as dancing, but then acting caught her and never let go. "I actually started dancing first," Amber explains, "I did The Nutcracker as a kid and realized that I LOVED being on stage. It was just this amazing feeling of total transcendence. And people clapped for me - I think that was the clincher, the clapping. It's always nice to be appreciated, ya know?" She stayed in Birmingham until she was twelve. She then moved to Orlando, Florida, where she stayed until she was fourteen. Around that time, Jordan Knight was her favorite member of New Kids on the Block. She did a pilot for a kids' television show with A.J. McLean of Backstreet Boys that never saw the light of day. Joey Fatone went to high school with her; he would later join the group 'N Sync. After Orlando, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. It was almost a year before she got work. Then came a commercial for snap.com and the film "King of the Hill." The movie won critical acclaim and awards alike, with Amber herself nominated at 15th Annual Youth in Film Awards. Amber holds this film in a special place in her heart, calling it one of her favorites. "It's such a moving piece." By the end of her teen years, Amber had made her mark on all acting mediums: the stage, the big screen and the small screen. Other film work from the 1990's included "Imaginary Crimes" with Fairuza Balk; "S.F.W.," "Bye Bye, Love" with Paul Reiser and Eliza Dushku; and "The Crush" with Alicia Silverstone and Cary Elwes. She also appeared in the "Jack Reed" television movies starring Brian Dennehy and on episodes of "Cracker" and "Promised Land." She took part in the popular teen movie "Can't Hardly Wait" -- but then the movie was edited down from an R to PG-13 rating and most of Amber's scenes were cut. Still, she made it on the back of the video box. Bigger and better things were coming as the year 2000 crept closer. In 1999, Amber filmed both "The Prime Gig" and "Hollywood P.A." - with the latter being an indie with a role written specifically for Amber. After just two auditions, Amber won the role of Tara in the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." This role won her new fans across the world. Tara lived through the 1999 - 2000 season. Amber continued to play Tara on a recurring basis throughout the 2000 - 2001 season. The year 2001 held even bigger and better things for Amber. Her pride and joy is Chance, a movie which she not only starred in, but wrote, directed and produced. She attended various signings, conventions and other events. She co-wrote and contributed to various official Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics. She traveled all the way to Romania to film the movie Taboo. Amber's role as Tara continued to be a recurring character on the 2001 - 2002 season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She loved working on the show, citing Hush and Restless ("Loved that beyond belief!") among her favorite episodes. Sadly, Tara was the victim of a stray bullet in the episode "Seeing Red." The next few years saw Amber multi-tasking even more than usual. In 2003, Christopher Golden and Amber Benson teamed up with the BBC and Cosgrove Hall to create an animated horror/adventure online series called Ghosts of Albion. Christopher and Amber created and wrote the tale, which Amber also directed. Since then, the two have worked on half a dozen Ghosts of Albion projects, including additional animated specials, novellas, and full-length novels. In 2005, Amber filmed Lovers, Liars and Lunatics, a madcap comedy written and directed by Amber herself. As she had with Chance, she also appeared in the film, which included the talents of James C. Leary, Michael Muhney and Christine Estabrook, just to name a few. 2006 and 2007 included the release of additional novels and novellas, such as Ghost of Albion: Witchery, as well as the DVD release of Lovers, Liars and Lunatics. She filmed various other movies and made a guest appearance on the hit TV show Supernatural. 2008 and 2009 were likewise filled with writing and acting work, such as the Lifetime movie 7 Things to Do Before I'm 30, a guest appearance on the TV show Private Practice, and the release of Amber's first solo-written novel, Death's Daughter. She continues to audition for various film and television roles, in addition to working on original screenplays and stories. If she wasn't an actress, Amber says she would "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." Currently, Amber's home is in Southern California. In her all too rare spare time, she tries to relax. She listens to a wide variety of music, including the late great Jeff Buckley, and has a voracious appetite for reading. She send many thanks and a "big HELLO!" to all of her fans. Crash Course Name: Amber Nicole Benson Birthdate: January 8th, 1977 Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama Current Residence: Los Angeles, California Astrological Sign: Capricorn Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Favorite Music: Jeff Buckley Favorite Authors: Ray Bradbury (The Halloween Tree), Susan Cooper, Marion Zimmer Bradley, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series), Christopher Golden (Body of Evidence series) Favorite Films: Antonia's Line, The Secret of Roan Inish, King of the Hill Favorite Color: Blue