Cobie Smulders

Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero franchise, from the film The Avengers (2012) until the Disney+ limited series Secret Invasion (2023). Smulders' other films include Safe Haven (2013), The Lego Movie (2014), Results (2015), The Intervention (2016), Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). She also starred in the Netflix comedy drama series A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017), the Netflix comedy series Friends from College (2017–2019), the ABC crime drama series Stumptown (2019–2020), and the FX true crime series Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021). Smulders made her theater debut in the off-Broadway production of the Nora Ephron play Love, Loss, and What I Wore in 2010. She then made her Broadway debut in the revival of the Noël Coward comedy Present Laughter (2017) earning a Theater World Award. Early life and education Smulders was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a Dutch father and a British mother. She was raised in White Rock, British Columbia, and later moved to the affluent West Point Grey neighbourhood to attend high school at Lord Byng Secondary School. She was named after her great-aunt, from whom she gained the nickname "Cobie". Smulders describes herself as "a fluent listener" of French. She has four sisters. Smulders was also a member of the Girl Guides of Canada as a child, participating as a Brownie (Girl Guide program for 7- to 10-year-olds). In her youth, Smulders aspired to be a marine biologist. She took an interest in theatre throughout high school and briefly studied at the University of Victoria before returning to acting.