Sarah Michelle Gellar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sarah Michelle Gellar
Gellar in 2011
Born	(1977-04-14) April 14, 1977 (age 48) New York City, US
Other names	Sarah Michelle Prinze
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1981–present
Spouse(s)	Freddie Prinze Jr. ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	2

Sarah Michelle Prinze (born April 14, 1977), known professionally as Sarah Michelle Gellar, is an American actress. She started acting at a very young age. Her first movie role was in the TV film An Invasion of Privacy (1983) when she was six.

She became well-known for playing Kendall Hart in the soap opera All My Children (1993–1995). For this role, she won a Daytime Emmy Award. Gellar gained worldwide fame as Buffy Summers in the supernatural TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). This show earned her a Saturn Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Her movies have made over US$570 million around the world. Some of her popular films include I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Scream 2 (1997), Cruel Intentions (1999), Scooby-Doo (2002), and The Grudge (2004). She also starred in TV shows like Ringer (2011–2012) and The Crazy Ones (2013–2014). In 2015, she helped start a baking company called Foodstirs. She also wrote a cookbook in 2017.

Early Life and Education

Sarah Michelle Gellar was born in New York City. She is the only child of Rosellen Greenfield and Arthur Gellar. Her parents were both Jewish. They divorced in 1984, and her mother raised her in New York's Upper East Side.

Gellar went to Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School and the Professional Children's School. She was a good student and a talented figure skater. Her best friend was Melissa Joan Hart, who later starred in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

Career Highlights

Early Acting Roles in the 1980s

When Gellar was four, a talent agent saw her in a restaurant. Soon after, she got a part in the TV film An Invasion of Privacy (1983). She impressed the directors by reading lines for another actress too.

As a child, Gellar appeared in many TV commercials. One famous commercial was for Burger King in 1982. She said Burger King's burgers were better than McDonald's. This led to a lawsuit, and Gellar was reportedly not allowed to eat at McDonald's for a while. She also worked as a model.

In the 1980s, Gellar had small roles in movies like Over the Brooklyn Bridge (1984). She also appeared in TV shows such as Spenser: For Hire. At age nine, she acted in an off-Broadway play called The Widow Claire.

Rising to Fame in the 1990s

In 1990, Gellar played 13-year-old Mollie in the play Jake's Women. In 1991, she played a young Jacqueline Bouvier in the miniseries A Woman Named Jackie. This show won an Emmy Award.

Her first main role was in the 1992 teen TV series Swans Crossing. She played a mayor's tricky daughter. Gellar felt that playing a "villain" helped her improve her acting skills. The show ran for 65 episodes.

Gellar joined the soap opera All My Children in 1993. She played Kendall Hart, the long-lost daughter of a main character. Fans loved her role, and she became very popular in soap operas. In 1995, at 18, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for her work. After this, Gellar moved to Los Angeles to find new acting opportunities.

Becoming a Star with Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Gellar read the script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a TV series about a teenager who fights evil creatures. She first tried out for a different role, but the creator, Joss Whedon, asked her to audition for the main role of Buffy. The show started in March 1997 and became very popular.

Buffy was a strong female character, different from typical horror movie victims. Entertainment Weekly called her one of the 100 greatest female characters in US TV. Buffy ran for seven seasons and 144 episodes. During this time, Gellar won five Teen Choice Awards and a Saturn Award. She even sang in the show's musical episode, "Once More, with Feeling".

While working on Buffy, Gellar also starred in two successful horror films. In I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), she played a beauty queen named Helen Shivers. The movie made US$125 million worldwide. She also appeared in Scream 2 (1997), which made over US$172 million.

In 1998, Gellar hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time. She later hosted two more times and made guest appearances. She also lent her voice to the movie Small Soldiers (1998) and the TV show King of the Hill. In 1999, she had her first main role in a film, Simply Irresistible. She also appeared in three episodes of Angel, a spin-off of Buffy.

Film Success in the 2000s

In 2000, Gellar appeared in an episode of the HBO series Sex and the City. In 2002, she played Daphne Blake in the live-action movie Scooby-Doo. She trained with a Hong Kong stunt team for the role. Even though some critics didn't love the movie, it made US$275 million worldwide, making it Gellar's most-watched film at the time. She won a Teen Choice Award for this role. She also co-hosted the 2002 MTV Movie Awards.

Gellar decided to leave Buffy the Vampire Slayer after its seventh season. She said it was a personal choice and she needed a break. She was very proud of her work on Buffy, believing it changed how people viewed TV.

Gellar in 2004

After Buffy, Gellar played Daphne again in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). This movie was also a commercial success. In The Grudge (2004), she played Karen Davis, a student in Tokyo who faces a scary curse. The film was a big hit, making over US$187 million globally. She received nominations for her role in this horror film.

Gellar also voiced characters in The Simpsons and the animated series Robot Chicken. In 2006, she appeared briefly in The Grudge 2. She also starred in the thriller The Return, which was not as successful.

In 2007, Gellar voiced characters in the animated movies Happily N'Ever After and TMNT. She also starred in the romantic comedy Suburban Girl and the drama The Air I Breathe.

Continuing Work and Breaks in the 2010s

In 2009, Gellar took a two-year break from acting after her daughter was born. In 2011, she returned to TV in The CW's Ringer. She played two roles: twin sisters. She said returning to TV allowed her to work and raise her family. The show was canceled after one season, but she received award nominations for her performance.

In September 2011, Gellar made a guest appearance on All My Children before it ended. She voiced characters in American Dad! and The Simpsons again.

Gellar with Robin Williams at an event for The Crazy Ones in 2013

Gellar was a big fan of Robin Williams. When she heard he was making the TV show The Crazy Ones (2013–2014), she worked to get a co-starring role. She played an advertising director who ran an agency with her father (played by Williams). The show was canceled after one season, but Gellar won a People's Choice Award for her role.

After The Crazy Ones and Robin Williams' death, Gellar took another break from acting. She said she needed time to focus on her children. During this time, she appeared as Cinderella in a YouTube series. She also voiced the Seventh Sister in Star Wars Rebels (2015–2016) and guest-starred as herself in the final episode of The Big Bang Theory in 2019.

Recent Projects in the 2020s

In 2021, Gellar voiced Teela in the animated Netflix series Masters of the Universe: Revelation. In 2022, she appeared in films again after 13 years. She had small roles in Clerks III and Do Revenge. These were seen as her "low-key return movies."

In 2022, it was announced that Gellar would star in and produce the Paramount+ supernatural drama series Wolf Pack, which started in January 2023. In 2024, Gellar was cast in a special guest role in the upcoming drama series Dexter: Original Sin.

Other Ventures

Helping Others and Good Causes

Gellar has actively supported many charities. These include groups that research breast cancer, deliver meals to sick people (Project Angel Food), build homes (Habitat for Humanity), and help people in need (CARE). She believes that giving back is very rewarding.

In 1999, Gellar helped Habitat for Humanity build homes in the Dominican Republic. She delivered meals for Project Angel Food. She also helped the Make-A-Wish Foundation by meeting sick children who wished to see her.

In 2011, Gellar joined "The Nestlé Share the Joy of Reading Program" to encourage children to read. In 2012, she received the Tom Mankiewicz Leadership Award. She also hosted fundraisers for Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA in 2014 and 2015.

Business and Media Appearances

Gellar has been on the covers of many magazines, including Seventeen, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. She also appeared in "Got Milk?" ads and in music videos for Stone Temple Pilots and Marcy Playground.

In October 2015, Gellar co-founded Foodstirs. This company sells easy-to-make organic baking mixes and kits for families. By 2018, Foodstirs products were sold in many stores, including Starbucks and Whole Foods.

Gellar released her own cookbook, Stirring up Fun with Food, in April 2017. The book has many fun food crafting ideas.

Personal Life

Gellar with her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. in 2007

Gellar met her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., while filming I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997. They started dating in 2000. They have worked together several times, playing Fred and Daphne in the Scooby-Doo movies.

They got engaged in April 2001 and married in Mexico on September 1, 2002. In 2007, Gellar legally changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze to honor their fifth wedding anniversary. They have two children: a daughter born in 2009 and a son born in 2012. The family lives in Los Angeles.

Selected Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Music videos

• Sour Girl" (2000), by Stone Temple Pilots

Video games

• Call of Duty: Black Ops (2011)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Sarah Michelle Gellar para niños