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, starting with the film The Avengers (2012).