From Slayer to Ringer: Snakkle Looks Back at Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Career

Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Crazy Ones (2013-14)

Gellar returned to television after Ringer in a bit of a TV departure for herself--a CBS sitcom. She played Sydney Roberts, the type A daughter of Simon Roberts (Robin Williams) who she worked for at his advertising firm. It marked Williams' first role on television since Mork and Mindy and sadly his last.The Crazy Ones was canceled in 2014 and lasted one season.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in a Burger King commercial (1981)

As a tiny tyke, Gellar was hired by Burger King to talk some patty-size smack against McDonald’s. The Golden Arches weren’t pleased, so they sued BK, their ad agency, and little pigtailed Sarah for false advertising. The case settled by the time she turned 5.

Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library

Sarah Michelle Gellar, 8th Grade at Professional Children's School, New York, New York (1990)

Gellar was discovered by an agent at age 4, and she continued to work throughout her grade school and high school years. She attended the Professional Children’s School in New York, which caters to children pursuing the arts.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Swans Crossing (1992)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Swans Crossing (1992)

Sarah's first regular TV break was in the syndicated teen drama Swans Crossing. She played Sydney Rutledge, the daughter of the town's mayor.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in All My Children (1995)

Ann Limongello/ABC via Getty Images

Sarah Michelle Gellar in All My Children (1995)

Sarah caught the attention of the producers on the ABC soap All My Children, and they hired her to play Kendall Hart, the long-lost daughter of the soap's siren Erica Kane (Susan Lucci). After just two years in the role, Gellar won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress (and supposedly the ire of costar Lucci).

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996 - 2003)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996-2003)

After leaving Children in New York, Sarah went west to test for TV pilots. She landed the lead role of vampire slayer Buffy Summers in the Fox drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer, based on the cult movie of the same name. It became a pop-culture phenomenon, put the fledgling WB network on the map, and made both Buffy and Gellar cult icons. Vocal-shy Gellar even sang in the now classic musical episode “Once More with Feeling.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

While Sarah was on hiatus from Buffy, she picked up movie projects over the summer. The first was the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer alongside fellow TV vet Jennifer Love Hewitt. She met her future husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., on-set.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scream 2 (1997)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scream 2 (1997)

Sticking to her demographic, Sarah stayed in the horror oeuvre, taking a small but pivotal role as Cici in the blockbuster sequel Scream 2.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions (1999)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions (1999)

In Cruel Intentions, Sarah went sexy bad girl in the teen-centric adaptation of the French seduction tale Les Liaisons Dangereuses. She played stepsister to Ryan Phillippe and shared a titillating French kiss with Selma Blair.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Sex and the City (2000)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Sex and the City (2000)

At the height of her Buffy fame, Sarah did a guest spot on another female-centric hit, Sex and the City.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scooby-Doo (2002)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scooby-Doo (2002)

Sarah and her boyfriend Freddie Prinze Jr. were cast as the live-action incarnations of Saturday cartoon icons Daphne Blake and Fred Jones. The film was supposed to be a more adult, irreverent take on the cartoon, but it was softened back into a family-friendly film. They both returned for the sequel in 2004.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Grudge (2004)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Grudge (2004)

After the end of Buffy, Gellar focused on film and starred in the U.S. adaptation of the Japanese horror thriller The Grudge. It was her last big box-office success before she took off work to become a mother; her first child, Charlotte Grace, was born in 2009.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Ringer (2011)

In Ringer, Gellar was not only an executive producer but she plays estranged twins Bridget and Siobhan. A former junkie, Bridget goes to visit Siobhan so they can reconnect. But when Siobhan supposedly disappears, Bridget slips into her sister’s not-so-perfect life. Ringer was canceled after one season.