......."When I get a day off, I don't know what to do with myself," admits Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and this fall's psycho thriller, I Know What You Did Last Summer. "When I'm not working, I'm on the phone paying bills and trying to get things done. People think I'm so together." In fact, call up any of the friends Gellar made while filming I Know What You Did Last Summer about four teenagers being harassed (to death) by one angry dude, and you'll get a similar report. Sarah is the coolest chick, says actor Freddie Prinze Jr. She never stops moving; she is on fire all the time!
.......The actress claims she has been this way since she was a kid. "When I was 4, I was out having lunch with my mom, and this woman walked up to me and asked if I'd like to be on television, and I was, like, 'Yeah, OK.'" Within months, the native New Yorker was doing Burger King commercials. And by the time she was 16, Gellar was winning awards, including an Emmy for her role as Kendall on All My Children.
.......While Gellar's life story may sound pretty darn glam, it hasn't always been easy. Unlike Helen, her character in the movie--a beauty queen who is the typical popular girl with the seemingly perfect boyfriend and perfect life--Gellar admits that when she was at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan she was a bona fide nerd. "Let's just say, I wasn't the most popular girl," quips Gellar, 20. If anything, she was lot like her TV persona. "Buffy is a total individual. Which is so wonderful because she proves you don't have to fit in. You can be different and still find happiness."
.......Has it been hard to find the balance between her personal and professional life? "Sometimes," she admits. "My prom was on the same night as the Emmys. But I don't think I've missed out on anything because of my work. Sure it's hard. Like, for the past few weeks, I've been working Monday through Thursday on Buffy and Friday, Saturday and Sunday on finishing Scream 2. But, hey, this is the time in my life when I'm supposed to be work like a dog. I'll relax when I'm old!"