Sarah Michelle Gellar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sarah Michelle Gellar | |
 Sarah Michelle Gellar at the 2004 Dubai International Film Festival. |
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| Birth name | Sarah Michelle Gellar |
| Born | April 14, 1977 (age 29) New York City, New York |
| Spouse(s) | Freddie Prinze Jr. |
| Notable roles | Kendall Hart in All My Children (1993 - 1995) Buffy Summers in Buffy (1997-2003) Kathryn Merteuil in Cruel Intentions (1999) Daphne Blake in Scooby-Doo (2002) Karen Davis in The Grudge (2004) |
| Emmy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Outstanding Younger Actress 1994 All My Children |
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Sarah Michelle Gellar (born April 14, 1977) is a Golden Globe-nominated, Emmy Award-winning American actress. After several television roles during the 1990s, Gellar came to fame for playing the role of Buffy Summers in the acclaimed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She has since become known as a film actress, having starred in the family film Scooby-Doo (2002), the independent film Harvard Man (2001), the teen drama Cruel Intentions (1999) and the horror films The Return (2006), The Grudge 2 (2006), The Grudge (2004), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Scream 2 (1997). She also provided the voice of April O'Neil in the film TMNT.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Gellar was born in New York City, the only child of Rosellen Greenfield, a nursery school teacher, and Arthur Gellar. Both of her parents were Jewish, though Gellar's family had a Christmas tree during the holidays while she was growing up.[1][2] 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 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 Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
[edit] 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's, 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 against Burger King, ad agency J. Walter Thompson, and Gellar herself, who appeared in court as a witness for the defense. The dispute was eventually settled out of court.[3][4] 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's major break came in 1992, when she starred in the serial Swan's Crossing and was subsequently cast in the soap opera, All My Children, playing the conniving character 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 is on the set of this Soap opera that she met Michelle Trachtenberg who will become later on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer as her sister, Dawn Summers.
Gellar left All My Children in 1995 amidst rumors of a strained working relationship with Susan Lucci, and 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, with the aid of a group of friends and her Watcher (a mentor). The show was well received by critics and audiences alike, spawning a spinoff series (Angel). Throughout its seven seasons and a total of 144 episodes, Buffy, and Gellar along with her, became cult icons in the United States and the UK, particularly as archetypes of "empowered" women.[5] Gellar also 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 Season six and the seventh season's finale.[6][7] 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.[8] 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[9]. Gellar has said that she was willing to appear in the episode, but scheduling conflicts and family problems prevented it.[10] Gellar has declined to lend her voice to the various Buffy video games, and another actress voiced Buffy for the never-aired Buffy animated series.
Gellar has appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, FHM, Rolling Stone, and other magazines. She was featured in Maxim's Hot 100 list in 2002, 2003, and 2005, and in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women of 2005. She was voted number 1 in FHM's 1999 edition. In 1998, she was named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People (in the World)". Gellar has also appeared in Got Milk? ads as well as in the Stone Temple Pilots music video Sour Girl, and is a celebrity spokesperson for Maybelline.
[edit] Film career
With continued success on Buffy, Gellar attempted to capitalize on her television fame for a motion pictures career, with 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 which is a novel from 18th century by Choderlos de Laclos. 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 U.S. 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".[11]
Gellar next played a lead role in James Toback's critically unsuccessful Harvard Man (2001) and starred as Daphne in the box office success Scooby-Doo (2002), a live-action adaptation of the cartoon series. Gellar also appeared in the sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), which grossed less than the first film. 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 appeared in the sequel The Grudge 2, which opened on October 13, 2006; in the film, she has a minor role reprising her character from the first film. Gellar's next role was in the thriller The Return, which was released on November 10, 2006. Her most recent role was in the animated fairy tale film Happily N'Ever After, where she gave the voice of Princess Ella. She has also starred in several films that have yet to be released, including Southland Tales, The Air I Breathe, Suburban Girl, and Addicted (a supernatural thriller based on the South Korean film Jungdok.[12]) . Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , her newest movie , released by Warner Bros. and The Weinstein Company shot straight to number one at the Box Office collecting over $25 million opening weekend.
Alice is the name of her next known film project. It is in the pre-production stage.
[edit] Personal life
Gellar met future husband Freddie Prinze Jr. during filming of the 1997 teen horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer[13] 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.
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.[14] 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.[15]
Gellar has said in interviews that she believes in God but does not belong to an organized religion.[1]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] 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; uncredited |
| Simply Irresistible | 1999 | Amanda Shelton | |
| 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 | Complete |
| The Air I Breathe | 2007 | Sorrow | Complete |
| Suburban Girl | 2007 | Brett Eisenberg | Complete |
| Addicted | 2007 | Unknown | Post-Production |
| Alice | 2007 | Alice | Pre-production (see also American McGee's Alice) |
[edit] 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 |
[edit] TV series
| Show | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swan's Crossing | 1992 | Sidney Orion Rutledge | |
| All My Children | 1993-1995 | Kendall Hart | |
| Buffy The Vampire Slayer | 1997-2003 | Buffy Summers, Buffybot, Faith (in episodes "This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You"), and the First in Season 7 |
[edit] TV appearances
| Show | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guiding Light | 1980 | Flower Girl at Kurt & Mindy's Wedding | |
| Love, Sidney | 1981 | Gail Hunnicutt | |
| Spenser: For Hire | 1988 | Emily | Ep. # 3.17 |
| Sex and the City | 2000 | Debbie | Ep. # 3.13 |
| Grosse Pointe | 2001 | Sarah Michelle Gellar | Ep. # 1.16 |
[edit] Television voice acting
| Show | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Of The Hill | 1998 | Marie | Ep. # 3.02 |
| 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 |
Gellar has hosted Saturday Night Live three times.[16][17][18] and had an uncredited appearance once.[19] 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.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b MarksFriggin.com. Sara Michelle Gellar Calls In. 3/5/99. 8:55am. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. Celebrity Jews. Retrieved on January 2, 2007.
- ^ http://www.kidzworld.com/article/145-sarah-michelle-gellar-biography
- ^ http://movies.sacticket.com/movies/person/detail?id=10325&search=
- ^ All About Spike. It's About Power. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ Entertainment Weekly at SMGfan.com. The Goodbye Girl. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ Suicide Girls. Sarah Michelle Gellar. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ DarkHorizons. Interview: Sarah Michelle Gellar "The Grudge". Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ Jozic, Mike, "Week 6; David Fury" Mikejozic.com (September, 2004).
- ^ SciFi.com. Gellar Open To Angel Gig. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ RogerEbert.com. Cruel Intentions. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ CanMag. Pace Addicted to Gellar. Retrieved on October 9, 2006.
- ^ ILoveFreddie.com. Entertainment Weekly Cover Story: The prinze and the slayer. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ Biglobe.net. 日記. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ ExtraTV. Scaring Sarah. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0694730/
- ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0694758/
- ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0694838/
- ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0694779/
[edit] External links
- Sarah Michelle Gellar at the Internet Movie Database
- Sarah Michelle Gellar at Yahoo! Movies
- Interview with Sarah Michelle Gellar for The Grudge at darkhorizon
- Sarah Michelle Gellar at TV.com
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gellar, Sarah Michelle |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 14, 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City, New York, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
