Sarah Michelle Prinze,
[Kaplan, Don. FRESH PRINZE: 'BUFFY' TAKES HER HUBBY'S NAME. New York Post. November 16, 2007.][Gellar Takes Prinze's Name. SFGate.com. November 16, 2007.] (born April 14, 1977) better known by her birth name of
Sarah Michelle Gellar, is an American film and television actress. She became widely known with her role as the character
Buffy Summers in the
television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for which she won a total of six
Teen Choice Awards and the
Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress and received a
Golden Globe Award nomination. She won a
Daytime Emmy Award for her work in
All My Children as character
Kendall Hart.
Her film work includes starring roles in
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997),
Cruel Intentions (1999);
Scooby-Doo (2002); the American remake of Japanese horror film
The Grudge (2004); and
The Return (2006). Gellar also played an ex-porn star in Richard Kelly's
Southland Tales (2007) and was part of an ensemble cast in
The Air I Breathe (2008). Gellar also stars in the films
Possession and
Veronika Decides to Die (2009).
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.
[Sarah Michelle Gellar Biography (1977-)] 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. She was estranged from her father from this time until his death from
liver cancer on October 9, 2001.
