Cobie Smulders: Biography, Health, Marvel Roles, and Family

When you have spent nine seasons rooting for Robin Scherbatsky, Cobie Smulders starts to feel like an old friend. She is the actor behind a hit sitcom and a superhero franchise, but many fans did not learn until later that she did much of that work while quietly navigating a serious health crisis.

Born: April 3, 1982 · Signature role: Robin Scherbatsky · First Marvel appearance: 2012’s The Avengers

Her story in brief: a sitcom breakthrough, a Marvel contract, and a health battle that stayed private for years.

What Is Cobie Smulders’ Real Name?

Smulders was born on April 3, 1982, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her full name is Jacoba Francisca Maria Smulders, and she eventually shortened her name to Cobie for her acting career, according to her Wikipedia biography. Her father was from the Netherlands, and her mother is English.

In her personal life, Smulders married actor and comedian Taran Killam on September 8, 2012. The couple has two daughters, according to their IMDb biographies. She has also stayed close with her How I Met Your Mother costars, including Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris.

Why this matters: Smulders has built a steadier, quieter personal life than many of her sitcom peers — and that stability has let her move between comedy and action with ease.

What Is Cobie Smulders’ Most Famous Role?

Ask most fans and the answer is immediate: Robin Scherbatsky. Smulders played Robin, a smart, independent Canadian journalist and one of the five lead friends on How I Met Your Mother. The show ran from 2005 to 2014, and Robin stayed central to the story from start to finish, according to the actress’s Wikipedia biography.

• The role: Robin Scherbatsky, a sharp-witted journalist.
• The show: How I Met Your Mother, 2005–2014.
• The impact: The role made Smulders a household name and gave her a loyal fan base.

The upshot: Smulders’ defining role is still Robin — a character who felt grounded, funny, and refreshingly stubborn.

What Illness Did Cobie Smulders Have?

Smulders is also a cancer survivor. A 2019 report from People’s health coverage explained that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was 25. Her Wikipedia biography places the diagnosis in 2007, while How I Met Your Mother was still in its early run.

“Going through cancer made me a better person and a more effective mother,” Smulders told USA Today.

• Diagnosis: Ovarian cancer in 2007.
• Privacy: She kept much of the story private for years.
• Outcome: She later described the experience as life-changing.

The catch: For all the headlines about her Marvel work, Smulders’ most serious off-screen role may have been as her own health advocate.

Who Was Cobie Smulders in the Avengers?

After How I Met Your Mother, Smulders made one of the strongest pivots in modern comedy and action: she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Maria Hill. According to her Wikipedia biography, her first appearance was in The Avengers in 2012.

• 2012: Maria Hill debuts in The Avengers.
• Later films: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Avengers: Endgame.
• Spider-Man movies: She also appeared in both recent Spider-Man films.
• 2023: She returned as Maria Hill in Secret Invasion.

“I was 25 and I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was really lucky that it was caught early,” Smulders said in an interview cited by CBS News.

What to watch: Smulders has built a résumé that rewards loyalty — a decade on a beloved sitcom, a role in a blockbuster universe, and a comeback story that keeps growing.

How Many Children Does Cobie Smulders Have?

Smulders and her husband Taran Killam have two daughters. She has said that having children after her cancer treatment was a milestone. IMDb biography confirms the couple has two children.

Related reading: Michaela Strachan: Cancer, Family, and Life in South Africa · Jon Hamm: Biography, Marriage, Sobriety & Career Facts

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