Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Prinze, (born April 14, 1977) better known by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as the character Buffy Summers in the acclaimed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for which she won in total six Teen Choice Awards, and the Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress and received a Golden Globe Award nomination. The show set up Gellar as an icon and star in the industry from the first season of the show. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role in All My Children as character Kendall Hart. She has since become known as a film actress, starring in the family film Scooby-Doo (2002) as Daphne Blake, and the American remake of Japanese horror film The Grudge (2004) and its sequel The Grudge 2 (2006). Earlier establishing roles include the teen drama Cruel Intentions (1999); the slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997); and the independent film Harvard Man (2001). Most recently she played an ex-porn star in Richard Kelly's Southland Tales (2007) and as part of an ensemble cast in The Air I Breathe (2008). Her many horror roles have established Gellar as a "scream queen".

Early life

Gellar was born in New York City, the only child of Rosellen (née Greenfield), a nursery school teacher, and Arthur Gellar, a garment worker. Both of her parents were Jewish, though Gellar's family had a Christmas tree during the holidays while she was growing up. In 1984, her parents divorced and she was brought up by her mother on the Upper East Side. Gellar was estranged from her father from this time until his death from liver cancer on October 9, 2001. She attended New York's Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School on a scholarship, and the Professional Children's School. Gellar held a straight-A average and became a competent figure skater. Her best friend was Melissa Joan Hart, who later was the star of the series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She also became close friends with Lindsay Sloane, who (in September 2002) would be her bridesmaid at her wedding.

Career

Television career

At the age of four, Gellar was spotted by an agent in a restaurant in Uptown Manhattan. Two weeks later, she auditioned for a part in An Invasion Of Privacy, a made-for-television film starring Valerie Harper, Carol Kane and Jeff Daniels. At the audition, Gellar read both her own lines and those of Harper, impressing the directors enough to cast her in the role. A short while later, she got a part in a controversial television commercial for Burger King, in which she criticized McDonald's and claimed to eat only at Burger King. This led to a lawsuit by McDonalds against Burger King, ad agency J. Walter Thompson, and child-actress Gellar herself, who appeared in court as a witness for the defense. The dispute was eventually settled out of court. Gellar continued to make commercials while appearing in acting roles, including playing Emily in an episode of the TV series Spenser: For Hire, appearing in a minor role in the Chevy Chase starring comedy Funny Farm and in the movie High Stakes, and filming in Europe for the TV series Crossbow. In 1991, she played a young Jacqueline Bouvier in A Woman Named Jackie. Gellar got her first major break in 1992, when she starred in the serial Swans Crossing and was subsequently cast in the soap opera All My Children, playing Kendall Hart, the long-lost daughter of character Erica Kane (Susan Lucci). In 1995, at the age of eighteen, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series for the role. It was on the set of this soap opera that she met Michelle Trachtenberg who would later join the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast.

In 2000, Gellar guest starred as Debbie in the hit HBO series Sex and the City episode Escape from New York. Sarah Michelle Gellar has also hosted SNL a total of three times (1998, 1999, and 2002). Gellar has lent her voice to animated TV series, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and several episodes of Robot Chicken.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Gellar left All My Children in 1995 amid rumors of a strained working relationship with Lucci. Gellar stated that she was screen tested eleven times (originally auditioning for the role of Cordelia), before she landed the lead in the 1997 TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing a teenager burdened with the responsibility of fighting a number of mystical foes, mostly vampires. The show was well received by critics and audiences alike, spawning a spin-off series (Angel), which featured two episodes in which she notably guest starred. Throughout its seven seasons and a total of 144 episodes, Buffy, and by extension Gellar, became cult icons in the United States, the UK and Australia, particularly as archetypes of "empowered" women. Gellar sang several of the songs during the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode "Once More, with Feeling", which spawned an original cast album. During the show's later years, Gellar expressed dissatisfaction about certain aspects of the show. Shortly after the show's end, Gellar stated that she had no interest in appearing in a Buffy feature film, although since then she has said she will consider it if the script is good enough. She did not appear in the final season of Angel, causing the intended episode ("You're Welcome") to be rewritten for the character of Cordelia Chase. Gellar has said that she was willing to appear in the episode, but scheduling conflicts and family problems prevented it. Gellar has declined to lend her voice to the various Buffy video games, and another actress voiced Buffy for an animated series based on the show, which never aired.

In her feature in Esquire magazine Gellar expressed her pride for her work on Buffy, "I truly believe that it is one of the greatest shows of all time and it will go down in history as that. And I don’t feel that that is a cocky statement. We changed the way that people looked at television.

Gellar's likeness is used in the comic continuation of the hit series.

Return to television (2009-)

It was reported on September 25, 2008 that Gellar would return to television, in the HBO series, "The Wonderful Maladys".

The Wonderful Maladys, is about three dysfunctional adult siblings living in New York and struggling to deal with the loss of their parents years ago.

Creator Charles Randolph tells Variety that he wrote the part with Gellar in mind.

Screenwriter Charles Randolph decribed her character as having "a kind of zealous immaturity -- like a drug addict with a to-do list."

HBO is aiming to shoot the pilot using a single camera in early 2009.

Gellar and Randolph will serve as executive producers.

Magazine covers and other appearances

Gellar has appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, FHM, Rolling Stone, and other magazines. She was featured in Maxim magazine's "Hot 100" list in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008 and in FHM 's "100 Sexiest Women" of 2005. She was voted number 1 in the magazine's 1999 edition. In 1998, she was named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People (in the World)". Gellar has appeared in "Got Milk?" ads as well as in the Stone Temple Pilots music video "Sour Girl". In 2007, she was ranked #54 on FHM Hot 100 List and was a celebrity spokesperson for Maybelline. Wearing a black lace brassiere, she was on the cover of the December 2007 issue of Maxim magazine and was named Maxim magazine's 2008 Woman of the Year. In 2008 she ranked in the top 5 of Maxims "Hot 100" list.

Along with actresses like Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Love Hewitt Gellar became one of the "it" girls of the 90's. She has appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine a total of six times. She graced the covers of Animal Fair and Dreamwatch.

She was also featured in Google's Top 10 Women Searches of 2002 and 2003, coming in at #8 and featured in UK Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sex Symbols in 2007, she Ranked at #16. Roles like Buffy and Cruel Intentions set her up as a sex symbol across the globe, Gellar featured in FHM Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, Denmark and Romania's 100 Sexiest Women lists every year from 1998 onwards. Topsocialite.com listed her as the 8th Sexiest woman of the 90s along with Alicia Silverstone, Gillian Anderson and Shannon Doherty. Other apperances and listings include: Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 TV Icons in 2007, Entertainment Weekly's Top 12 Entertainers of the Year in 1998 (Ranked: 3) and Glamour's 50 Best Dressed Women in the World [2004]and [2005] Ranking in at #17 and #24.

Film career and Image change

Gellar attempted to capitalize on her television fame with a motion picture career, and had intermittent commercial success. After roles in the popular thrillers I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2 (both 1997), she starred in the 1999 films Simply Irresistible, a romantic comedy, and Cruel Intentions, a modern-day retelling of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Cruel Intentions - with a kiss between Gellar and co-star Selma Blair that won the two the "Best Kiss" award at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards - was a modest hit at the box office, grossing over $38 million in the United States. Critic Roger Ebert stated that Gellar and co-star Ryan Phillippe "develop a convincing emotional charge" and that Gellar is "effective as a bright girl who knows exactly how to use her act as a tramp". Gellar’s role showed her versatility as an actress, and many were surprised to see her playing a brunette, cocaine addict with a appetite for manipulating and using people, Her performance was praised by a number of critics including Rob Blackwelder, for SPLICEDwire who said “with the dazzling performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar who plunges headlong into the lascivious malevolence that makes Kathryn so delightfully wicked. (Plus she looks great in a corset.)”.

Gellar next played a lead role in James Toback's critically unsuccessful independent Harvard Man (2001) where she played the daughter of a mobster. The movie included two strong sex scenes with Gellar, helping her shed her good girl image even more after Cruel Intentions in 1999. Rolling Stone said, "Yes, that's our Buffy, Sarah Michelle Gellar, playing a cheerleader who is not above sneaking off to the woods with her boyfriend, hiking up her skirt, sitting on his dick and bumping and grinding without missing a beat in the conversation. Gellar is a long way here from Scooby-Doo -- thank the gods -- and James Toback's Harvard Man is an even longer way from the Hollywood drool that pretends to take on issues -- sexual, ethical, criminal -- that often come with a college education". Sarah also starred as Daphne Blake in Scooby-Doo (2002), a live-action adaptation of the cartoon series. Gellar also appeared in the sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). She starred alongside her husband, Freddie Prinze, Jr. in both Scooby-Doo movies. Gellar's next film was the 2004 horror film The Grudge, which was a success at the box office. David Wirtschafter, the president of the William Morris Agency (which represented Gellar), subsequently told The New Yorker that the success of The Grudge "takes our client Sarah Michelle Gellar, who now is nothing at all, and...makes her a star, potentially. Suddenly, the Sarah Michelle Gellar space is meaningful". The remark led Gellar to terminate her association with the agency; Gellar is now represented by the United Talent Agency. Gellar appeared in the sequel The Grudge 2, which opened in October 2006; in the film, she has a minor role reprising her character from the first film. Gellar next appeared in the thriller The Return, which was released the following month. Sarah played a businesswoman haunted by memories of her childhood and the mysterious death of a young woman. The movie was marketed as a horror movie and many including critics were suprised to find The Return was as Rafe Telsch said "is just a murder mystery with a few supernatural elements". The movie pulled in a disapointing $4,800,000 weekend gross with little promotion. She then lent her voice to two animated films: the animated fairy tale Happily N'Ever After, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She followed those with a string of films including Southland Tales, The Air I Breathe, Suburban Girl (earlier known as "A Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing"), and Possession (a supernatural thriller based on the South Korean film Jungdok known to English language audiences as Addicted). Southland Tales opened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2006 and was released in the US in November 2007. The Air I Breathe and Suburban Girl were screened at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Suburban Girl eventually went straight to video in early 2008, much to fans disapointment. It was dubbed a blend of Sex And The City and The Devil Wears Prada by the masses and a "pseudo-sophisticated romantic comedy" according to Variety.com Her on screen chemistry with Alex Baldwin was either criticised or praised, with Eye For Film commenting, "The film works best when Baldwin and Gellar are together - aside from the fact that Gellar seriously needs to eat a bun or two". Film website moviepictirefilm.com stated "Gellar and Baldwin both give wonderful performances and make their chemistry incredibly real and ultimately, quite heartbreaking. Containing a ton of laughs and killer fashion that could give "The Devil Wears Prada" a run for its money, this movie has something uncommon in most romantic comedies, tons of style and a huge heart. The Air I Breathe was released theatrically the same month to generally poor reviews. The New York Times called it a "gangster movie with delusions of grandeur. However, Gellar's performance was praised by a number of critics, DVD Talk Review noted that "her character here has the deepest emotional arc, and she hits all the right notes.Possession has had a number of different release dates set, ranging from September 2007 to February 2008, but is still unreleased. She was offered a role in Stardust but turned it down to spend more time with her husband. Other roles she turned down include the role of Juliet in Romeo + Juliet (having had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with "All My Children") and an undisclosed role in The Faculty. She was also offered the role of Brittany Foster in The In Crowd, but turned it down. The part later went to Susan Ward. She is involved in the long delayed science fiction animation film "Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey" which Gellar provides a voice for alongside Lacey Chabert, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. Possession's exact status is currently unknown and, according to one report, its release has been pushed to 2009. Gellar's next movie is : 'Veronika Decides to Die'. It was reported that Kate Bosworth was previously attached to the project. The film tells the story of a young woman suffering from severe depression who rediscovers the joy in life when she finds out that she only has days to live following a suicide attempt. Filming of the movie began on May 12 2008, in New York City. and finished in late June.

Gellar is also rumored to be starring along side Brendan Fraser, Donald Sutherland, and Ian Holm in the 2009 drama This Side of The Looking Glass.

On June 25, 2008, it was announced she is no longer attached to the film version of the video game American McGee's Alice.

Boxoffice Status

As of September 2008, Gellar's films have grossed $627.3 million , putting her on par with other actresses such as Reese Witherspoon, and Jennifer Lopez.

Gellar's biggest solo film to date has been The Grudge, which opened with $39.1 million opening weekend and grossed over $110 million in the US alone.

Personal life

Gellar met future husband Freddie Prinze, Jr., during filming of the 1997 teen horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer but the two did not begin dating until 2000. They were engaged in April 2001 and married in Mexico on September 1, 2002 in a ceremony officiated by Adam Shankman, a film director and choreographer with whom Gellar had worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Gellar's bridesmaid was her closest friend of many years, Lindsay Sloane. In 2007, Gellar legally changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze in honor of the couple's fifth year of marriage. In 2004, while filming The Grudge in Japan, Gellar visited the famous Japanese swordsmith Shoji Yoshihara (Kuniie III) and bought a Katana from him as a birthday present for her husband. Gellar realized that she needed clearance from the government to remove the sword from the country, and after eventually succeeding, stated that it was "incredibly difficult" to do. Gellar has said in interviews that she believes in God but does not belong to an organized religion. Gellar has said in interviews that she collects rare editions of classic children's literature.

Gellar graced the cover of Gotham Magazine and featured as their main story in the March 2008 issue, in which she spoke about how passing 30 has evolved her style , Gellar said "It sounds clichéd, but when women turn 30, they find themselves. You become more comfortable in your own skin. Last night on Letterman, I wore this skintight Herve Leger dress. Two years ago, three years ago? I would never have worn it."

Gellar has also reflected on her choices as an actress; she frequently mentions how "proud" she is of her TV show "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" which became a worldwide popular hit. She has also been her own critic, talking about movie roles she has taken, saying, "Simply Irresistible (1999) was just a bad choice - and for that, it was a great learning experience. I wasn't ready to make that movie. I was too young. The script was not ready. I knew in my heart before I left to make it that I should back out."

Gellar has four tattoos. She has a symbol for integrity on her lower back, a heart and dagger and a cherry blossom on her ankle, and two dragonflies on her back.

In 2007, Gellar was featured in Vaseline's "Skin Is Amazing" campaign, with other actors such as Hilary Duff, Amanda Bynes, and John Leguizamo.

During her 2006 interview with Marie Claire, Sarah spoke about her thoughts on the movie industry for women. She spoke about her views on the roles of women in movies saying, "You realize its a very tough market for women. For me its about getting roles where women get to do something active, not the girlfriend, not the wife. There are mainly two types of roles for us, women in-jeopardy films and romantic movies." Gellar has been praised by fans and critics alike for being a strong role model for young girls and women. Gellar went on to speak about how the business has changed and about magazine-cover attention-seeking Hollywood-starlets. Gellar said (when the interviewer said she was shocked at how many actresses seem to 'need' to be on the cover of a magazine like US Weekly), "Can I interrupt you? Do you think those actresses strive to be on those covers? Because I don't, I think its people striving to get that celebrity position, but I think you'll find that most 'actors' don't want that. Because when you know too much about them, it takes away the illusion that a film creates."

Gellar is also an active advocate for various charities, Breast cancer, Project Angel Food, Habitat for Humanity and CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, all of which Sarah says you get to "physically do something". She says, "I started because my mother taught me a long time ago that even when you have nothing, there's ways to give back. And what you get in return for that is tenfold. But it was always hard because I couldn't do a lot. I couldn't do much more than just donate money when I was on the show because there wasn't time. And now that I have the time, it's amazing."

Filmography

Films

Film	Year	Role	Notes
Over the Brooklyn Bridge	1984	Phil's daughter	Bit part; uncredited
Funny Farm	1988	Elizabeth's student	Bit part; uncredited
High Stakes	1989	Karen Rose	Credited as "Sarah Gellar"
I Know What You Did Last Summer	1997	Helen Shivers
Scream 2	1997	Casey "Cici" Cooper
Small Soldiers	1998	Gwendy Doll	Voice
She's All That	1999	Girl in Cafeteria	Bit part; Special Thanks from Producers
Simply Irresistible	1999	Amanda Shelton	Main Character
Cruel Intentions	1999	Kathryn Merteuil
Harvard Man	2001	Cindy Bandolini
Scooby-Doo	2002	Daphne Blake
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed	2004	Daphne Blake
The Grudge	2004	Karen Davis
The Grudge 2	2006	Karen Davis
The Return	2006	Joanna Mills
Happily N'Ever After	2007	Ella	Voice
TMNT	2007	April O'Neil	Voice
Southland Tales	2007	Krysta Now
Suburban Girl	2008	Brett Eisenberg
The Air I Breathe	2008	Sorrow
Possession	2009	Jessica	Post-production
Veronika Decides to Die (film)	2009	Veronika	Post-production
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey	2009	Ranger	Post-production
This Side of The Looking Glass	2009		Pre-production

TV movies

Film	Year	Role	Notes
An Invasion Of Privacy	1983	Jennifer Bianchi
A Woman Named Jackie	1991	Teenage Jacqueline Bouvier
Beverly Hills Family Robinson	1998	Jane Robinson	Filmed In 1996

TV series

Show	Year	Role	Notes
Swan's Crossing	1992	Sidney Orion Rutledge
All My Children	1993-1995	Kendall Hart
Angel	1999-2000 #1.8 and #1.19 with a few uncredited appearances including #1.1	Buffy Summers	Supporting Role; Episodes: "I Will Remember You" and "Sanctuary".
Buffy The Vampire Slayer	1997-2003	Buffy Summers, Buffybot, Faith (in episodes "This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You"), and The First Evil (in Season 7)	Title Role

TV appearances

Crossbow >

Show	Year	Role	Notes
Guiding Light	1980	Flower Girl at Kurt & Mindy's Wedding
Love, Sidney	1981	Gail Hunnicutt	Ep. # 2.5
Spenser: For Hire	1988	Emily
vxcvxcvxcvxcvxcvxcvxc| ''
Saturday Night Live	1998	Host
Saturday Night Live	1999	Host
Angel	1999-2000	Buffy Summers	Ep. # 1.8 and Ep. # 1.19
Saturday Night Live	2000	Introduced Britney Spears' two performances
Saturday Night Live	2000	Cameo
Sex and the City	2000	Debbie	Ep. # 3.13
Grosse Pointe	2001	Sarah Michelle Gellar	Ep. # 1.16
Saturday Night Live	2002	Host
American Idol	2007	Stayin' Alive Lip Syncher	Idol Gives Back
Rachael Ray (talk show)	2008	Special Guest	Talked about her new campaign

Television voice acting

Show	Year	Role	Notes
King Of The Hill	1998	Marie	Ep. # 3.02
Hercules	1998	Andromeda	Ep. # 1.27
Hercules	1998	Andromeda	Ep. # 1.30
God, The Devil And Bob	2000	That Actress On That Show	Ep. # 1.10
The Simpsons	2004	Gina Vendetti	Ep. # 15.16
Robot Chicken	2005	Different Voices	Ep. # 1.02
Robot Chicken	2005	Different Voices	Ep. # 1.04
Robot Chicken	2005	Different Voices	Ep. # 1.14
Robot Chicken	2005	Different Voices	Ep. # 1.17
Robot Chicken	2005	Different Voices	Ep. # 1.20
Robot Chicken	2006	Different Voices	Ep. # 2.06
Robot Chicken	2007	Different Voices	Ep. # 3.09

Gellar has hosted Saturday Night Live three times.1997-1998, 1998-1999 and 2002-2003 seasons and had an uncredited appearance. Together with Jack Black, she appeared in a spoof of the Council of Elrond scene in the Lord of the Rings. The spoof, informally known as the Lord of the Piercing was aired at the 2002 MTV Movie Awards and is available as an Easter egg in the Extended Edition DVD except for the British R2 extended edition.

Awards, categorized by type

Teen Choice Awards

• 1999: Won, "TV - Choice Actress" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2000: Won, "TV - Choice Actress" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2001: Nominated, "TV - Choice Actress" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2001: Won, Extraordinary Achievement Award
• 2002: Won, "TV - Choice Actress, Drama" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2002: Won, "Film - Choice Actress, Comedy" — Scooby-Doo
• 2002: Nominated, "Film - Choice Chemistry (with Freddie Prinze Jr.)" — Scooby-Doo
• 2003: Won, "TV - Choice Actress, Drama/Action" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2005: Nominated, "Choice Movie Actress - Action/Adventure/Thriller" — The Grudge

MTV Movie Awards

• 1998: Nominated, "Best Breakthrough Performance" - I Know What You Did Last Summer
• 2000: Nominated, "Best Villain" — Cruel Intentions
• 2000: Won, "Best Female Performance" — Cruel Intentions
• 2000: Won, "Best Kiss", Shared with Selma Blair — Cruel Intentions
• 2005: Nominated, "Best Frightened Performance" - The Grudge

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

• 1998: Won "Favorite Supporting Actress - Horror" - I Know What You Did Last Summer

Golden Globe Awards

• 2001: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Saturn Awards

• 1998: Nominated, "Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 1999: Won, "Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2000: Nominated, "Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2001: Nominated, "Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2002: Nominated, "Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2003: Nominated, "Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2004: Nominated, "Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Golden Satellite Awards

• 2002: Won, "Outstanding TV Ensemble" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 2003: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a Series - Drama" — Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Daytime Emmy Awards

• 1994: Nominated, "Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series" — All My Children
• 1995: Won, "Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series" — All My Children

Young Hollywood Awards

• 2002: Won, "Hottest, Coolest Young Veteran - Female"

References

External links

• Sarah Michelle Gellar at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Sarah Michelle Gellar for The Grudge at darkhorizon