Sarah Michelle Gellar Facts: Celebrities Who Started On Soaps

Sarah Michelle Gellar is best known for playing Buffy Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The actress has also appeared on shows such as its spinoff Angel as well as The Crazy Ones. Of course, soap fans know her from the role she created as Erica Kane’s daughter, Kendall, on All My Children.

Along with her work on television, Gellar has also appeared in movies such as Cruel Intentions, The Grudge, and Scooby-Doo. From where she was born and raised to the big roles she turned down, here are five fast facts about the successful actress.

Who Is Sarah Michelle Gellar?

Gellar was born on April 14 in Long Island. Her parents got divorced when she was 7, so she moved to the Upper East Side with her mom. She attended LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, also known as the Fame school. Gellar dropped out, as her acting career became too time-consuming. She instead graduated from the Professional Children’s School.

Soap Beginnings
Gellar was cast on All My Children as Kendall Hart in 1993 and immediately won the audience over. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series when she was 18. She decided to leave the show in 1995 to pursue other acting opportunities.

Almost Wasn’t Buffy
When Gellar first auditioned for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the producers actually thought she was a better fit to play Cordelia. Gellar auditioned as Cordelia, but she convinced them she was actually the right person to play Buffy.

Turned Down Big Roles

While Gellar fought for that role, she actually turned down others, like Clueless, The Crucible, and Romeo + Juliet because of her role on All My Children. She then had to turn down roles in American Beauty, Fight Club, The Wedding Planner, and Gangs of New York due to her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Getting Personal With Sarah Michelle Gellar
The busy actress met her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., while filming I Know What You Did Last Summer. The couple got married on September 1, 2002, and they have two children together — a daughter named Charlotte and a son named Rocky.