Sarah Michelle Gellar Biography
Summary
"Sarah Michelle Gellar" (born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as the fictional character Buffy Summers in the acclaimed television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role in "All My Children" .
She has since become known as a film actress, having starred as Daphne Blake in the family film "Scooby-Doo" (2002) and the sequel "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" (2004), the romantic comedy "Simply Irresistible" (1999), 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 was in the TV movie "Beverly Hills Family Robinson" (1998) and provided the voice of April O'Neil in the film "TMNT" and Ella (better known as Cinderella) in the film "Happily N'Ever After".
She has also starred in several films that have yet to be released, including "Southland Tales" (November 14, 2007), "The Air I Breathe" (January 25, 2008), "Suburban Girl" (DVD & Blu-ray Disc on January 15, 2008) and "Addicted" (which according to some reports has been renamed to "Possession") (February 29, 2008) . She is currently attached to the film version of the video game "American McGee's Alice".
Biography
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 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".
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. 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 is on the set of this Soap opera that she met Michelle Trachtenberg who would later join the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" cast.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
Gellar left "All My Children" in 1995 amid rumors of a strained working relationship with 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. 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, the UK and Australia, particularly as archetypes of 'empowered' women. 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 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.
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, and 2005, 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 also 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. She was also named Maxim magazine's 2008 woman of the year.
Film career
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". "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'.
Gellar next played a lead role in James Toback's critically unsuccessful "Harvard Man" (2001) and 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 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 next appeared in the thriller "The Return", which was released on November 10, 2006. She then lent her voice to two animated films: the animated fairy tale "Happily N'Ever After", and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". She has also starred in several films that have yet to be released, including "Southland Tales", "The Air I Breathe", "Suburban Girl" (earlier known as 'A Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing'), and Addicted (a supernatural thriller based on the South Korean film Jungdok known to English language audiences as "Addicted"). "The Air I Breathe" and "Suburban Girl" have been seen by members of the public at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. "The Air I Breathe" has a release date of January 25th 2008, while "Suburban Girl" is being released straight to DVD on January 15 2008. "Addicted" has had a number of different release dates set, ranging from September 2007 to February 2008. "Southland Tales" opened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2006 and is set to release in the US on November 14th 2007.
Her next film, "Alice", is in the pre-production stage.
She was also offered a role in Stardust but turned it down to spend more time with her husband.
She also is involved in the long delayed scifi animation film 'Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey' which Sarah provides a voice for alongside Lacey Chabert, John Travolta and Samuel L.Jackson
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".
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 also said in interviews that she collects rare editions of classic children's literature.
Filmography
Television voice acting
Gellar has hosted "Saturday Night Live" three times.1997-1998, 1998-1999 and 2002-2003 seasons respectively and had an uncredited appearance once. 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'
External links
(Interview) with Sarah Michelle Gellar for "The Grudge" at darkhorizon
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Sarah Michelle Gellar.
