Helen Gahagan

Illeana Douglas is her grand-daughter. Previous relationships include actor Steven Sutphen and Marilyn Manson drummer Ginger Fish. In 1950 she ran for the United States Senate, but was defeated by Richard Nixon in a race considered by her supporters to be a prototypical smear campaign. She owns a home in Sacramento, California and married actor Alexis Denisof on October 11, 2003. In the 1940s she enterered politics, and was elected to the United States House of Representatives from California for two terms. In early 2004, Hannigan made her West End debut starring in a stage adaptation of When Harry Met Sally at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, opposite Luke Perry. Gahagan starred in one Hollywood movie, She, in 1935, playing The Ice Goddess ("She who must be obeyed"). Reports indicated that it was likely to be titled Americana, but the pilot was not part of NBC's 2004 fall lineup.

She became a well known star on Broadway in the 1920s. In 1931 she married actor Melvyn Douglas. It was announced in October 2003 that she had signed a deal with NBC to appear in a comedy, expected to debut in fall 2004. Gahagan was born in Boonton, New Jersey. By the final season she was earning $250,000 an episode.
Helen Gahagan in the 1920s. Before that she had done a little television work, mostly commercials, and she went on to do a good deal more including Almost Home, Picket Fences, Roseanne and Touched by an Angel before being chosen for Buffy in 1997. She was also known as The Pink Lady. Born in Washington, DC, her first film role was in My Stepmother is an Alien (1988).

Helen Gahagan (25 November 1900 - 28 June 1980) was a United States actress and (under the name Helen Gahagan Douglas) a politician. Alyson Hannigan (born Allison Lee Hannigan, March 24, 1974) is an American actress best known for playing Willow Rosenberg in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appeared in films including, as Michelle Flaherty, American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003).