Backstage Pass: Secrets of Sarah Michelle by Dina Sansing

From Seventeen - August 2001

Thanks to MyXti for typing this article.

Quick: Name the celeb who has the Chinese symbol for sincerity tattooed on her back and a knife dangling over a heart etched on her ankle. If you said Angelina Jolie, you're wrong! It's Sarah Michelle Gellar. Though you'd never guess it from her squeaky-clean Maybelline ads, this star has a wild side. But then, there's a lot about her that might surprise you.

For an actress who's been in the public eye longer than she's been wearing bras. (she started out in commercials and went on to win a Daytime Emmy for playing feisty teen Kendall Hart on All My Children), Gellar has--amazingly--managed to keep her private life, well, private. You don't see her on the late-night circuit blabbing about the details of fiance Freddie Prinze, Jr's April marriage proposal. (All we know is that the 25-year old Prinze, who costars with Gellar in next years's big-screen adaptation of Scoobie Doo, popped the question the day of her 24th birthday.)

Even her Buffy the Vampire Slayer character is somewhat of an enigma. Just when we thought we understood the Slayer, she shocked us by willingly plunging to her death in May's cliff-hanger. (Never fear: We predict Buffy will return, since Gellar has two more years on her contract with the show, which jumps from The WB to UPN this fall.) So we turned to Gellar's castmates for some insight into our favorite demon defeater. Here's what they told us.

she's a little bit Martha Stewart.

On the Buffy set, Gellar often spends her downtime making her personal wardrobe sparkle. "We have BeDazzlers and put rhinestones on our jackets, bags and T-shirts between takes," says Michelle Trachtenberg, 15, who plays Buffy's little sister, Dawn. Wonder if Gellar will bring along her wedding gown this season!

she's a little bit Harry P.

Curling up with a good book is one of Gellar's favorite pastimes. The avid reader has gotten her Buffy costars into the Harry Potter series, and she loves searching for rare books--a very pricey habit. "Leave it to me to find the most expensive hobby in the world," Gellar has said. Her children's-book collection includes first editions of classics like Goodnight Moon and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

just call her Mommy...

Gellar, who was raised by her mother after her parents divorced in 1984, loves to play Mom to her castmates. James Marsters recalls that during his first season playing Buffy's nemesis Spike, he wasn't given a director's chair by the show's producers. "I had to sit in the corner in the dust. It didn't feel so good," says Marsters. Gellar came to the rescue. "She told producers, 'Look, I'll buy it myself, but James has been with us long enough and he deserves a chair,' " addds Marsters. And when Trachtenberg got a case of laryngitis last season, Gellar was ready with tea, honey--even a space heater. "Sarah is very protective," says Trachtenberg.

or Queenpin...

Who says bowling is uncool? Gellar loves to hit the lanes with friends, and she and Prinze even have their own balls. "We not be very good, but we have fun," says Trachtenberg, whose games has improved--thanks to some tips from Prinze. "I used to bowl around an 80, but the last time I got about a 170," she adds.

or Style Vixen...

With designers begging to dress her, Gellar has become a clotheshorse of sorts. But her real talent is identifying the fads before her peers do. "Sarah knows what the next trend will be," says Trachtenberg. "She's always saying, 'No, honey, that's not cool anymore.' She's the fashion queen."

or MTIT (Mother Teresa-in-Training)...

Gellar realizes there's more to life than having a hit TV show. The generous star sqeezes volunteering into her ultra-hectic schedule. A few years ago, she traveled to the Dominican Republic with Habitat for Humanity to build a new home for a poor family. "My mother taught me that when you're in a position to give back, you have to do it," she has said.

Sure, Freddie's a good kisser, but...

Gellar actually won an MTV Movie Award for her on-screen liplock with Cruel Intentions costar Selma Blair. Gellar wasn't grpssed out by the steamy scene. "I've had to kiss guys I don't want to kiss," Gellar had told reporters. "At least Selma is a friend, and I know where she's been."

We may not know exactly where Gellar's been, but we can guess where she's going. With her no-holds-barred attitude and nurturing nature, Gellar is headed straight for the top.