Some people are synonymous for one name. Madonna and Prince in the music industry, JJ and Spielberg in film, and for TV, there’s simply Buffy. Sarah Michelle Gellar played the Vampire-ass-kicking Sunnydale slayer from 1997-2003. During that time her show Buffy the Vampire Slayer became one of the most sought after shows on the small screen. Viewers loved Buffy for her strength, smarts, quick wit and stunning good looks. But behind the scenes was a young woman on the verge of achieving TV greatness. Sarah Michelle Gellar will forever be attached to Buffy, but her extensive television work before and after the Joss Whedon creation should also be recognized.

Gellar hit the small screen at an early age.

Although never given the doomed title of “Child Star,” she played a recurring role on a short lived show called Swans Crossing back in 1992. Swans Crossing followed the lives of young rich kids who get their kicks from scandal. Think an early 1990s version of Gossip Girl with less trendy music. Gellar played the mayor’s scheming daughter Sydney and jump started her acting career. Although Swans Crossing only lasted for one full season, Gellar’s performance was enough to land her a recurring role on one of the most popular daytime soaps of all time, All My Children. Learning from her early years of playing a lying, scheming, almost evil temptress, Gellar again channeled her inner brat and played a perfect Kendall Lang. Perfect enough to land her a daytime Emmy.

At this point in her career, Gellar was being recognized as an up and comer in television. She’d successfully landed a large role on a recognizable show and seemed ready to at least try for something prime time. But it seemed as though the calls weren’t coming as frequently as expected. Although All My Children was a great show for exposure, the character of Kendall really didn’t show the world what Gellar could do as a star. One person did see something special in her though. One person saw someone he could build a world around. This person is of course Joss Whedon.

Joss Whedon cast Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers and along with becoming one of the most recognizable TV icons of all time, Gellar was able to break into feature film. I could sit here and write for days about how iconic Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, but instead I’ll glaze this over as I’m sure many of you are already aware of Gellar’s performance. Post-Buffy Gellar is something of a different story.

During her successful run on television, Gellar landed a few feature film roles in movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions and Scooby-Doo (where she met her eventual husband Freddy Prinze Junior). But since leaving Buffy, Gellar’s TV appearances have been less frequent and her film roles have increased. After starring in one of the first Japanese imported horror movies The Grudge, Gellar has since moved on to films like Southland Tales and voice over work for the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and animated TV variety show Robot Chicken.

The happily married mother of one looks to be making a return to television next year with the show The Wonderful Maladys. Along with her starring role as Alice Malady, Gellar is set to be an executive producer. If the show is picked up by HBO as expected, look to see Sarah Michelle Gellar back on TV as someone other than Buffy.