Which actress portrayed Robin Scherbatsky?

Cobie Smulders portrayed Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother. Robin is introduced in the 2005 pilot as the woman Ted Mosby meets at MacLaren’s Pub, launching the series’ central romantic tension.

Robin is a Canadian journalist who works first as a television reporter and later as a news anchor. Her career contrasts with Ted’s idealized idea of settling down: she is independent, career-focused, and initially resistant to marriage and children. She eventually becomes one of the show’s five core characters.

A common mix-up comes from Alyson Hannigan, who played Lily Aldrin, Robin’s close friend. Sarah Chalke played Stella Zinman, one of Ted’s major romantic partners, while Ashley Williams played Victoria. Smulders also played Robin’s teenage pop-star alter ego, Robin Sparkles, in episodes featuring songs such as “Let’s Go to the Mall.”

Smulders was a relatively unknown actress when she won the role. She later became widely recognized for playing Maria Hill in Marvel productions, but Robin remained her signature television character, appearing in all 208 episodes of the original series.