Amber Benson 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 and Lovers, Liars & Lunatics. She is also co-director with Adam Busch of the upcoming film Drones.

Benson was born in Birmingham, Alabama to Edward, a psychiatrist, and Diane. 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.

Benson attended high school in Orlando, Florida after her family moved there, in part to help her 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. They then relocated to Los Angeles, and she began to very quickly land roles in films and on television.