Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals the surprising connection Dolly Parton has to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Virgin Radio

1 Feb 2023, 11:51

You might not know it, but without Dolly Parton, there would be no Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

It turns out that country music icon Parton is very close to Buffy, having started up production company Sandollar Entertainment with her friend and former manager Sandy Gallin in 1986.

Over 10 years later, the production house delivered their first major hit in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar in the titular role as a teen who battled against all kinds of mythical creatures and demons. 

The show was a massive hit when it launched, and ran from 1997 to 2003, with its spin-off, Angel, also finding a huge fanbase. 

Despite being at the helm of Buffy, Parton has never been credited with a producer, or having anything to do with the series, but according to its lead star, the 9 to 5 singer was very much in support of the franchise. 

While on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Gellar shared how Parton was indeed behind the series, and she would often gift the cast with presents too. 

She explained: “We never saw her but we would get Christmas gifts at the beginning that had her name and I just thought she didn’t know who I was but one day somebody asked her about it and she complimented the show and my performance so I thought, ‘Oh I can die now’.

“Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I’m good.”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn’t the only screen project Parton can take credit for, as she’s also a producer on the upcoming film adaption of her novel, Run, Rose, Run, which she will also star in. 

Meanwhile, Cruel Intentions star Gellar recently shared why she isn’t letting her children on screen until they are over the age of 18. 

The actor, whose career has spanned over three decades, told The Hollywood Reporter about her 13-year-old daughter Charlotte's acting ambitions.

She said: "Does it scare the s**t out of me?" Gellar replied. "Well, we have rules in place. She can't be in front of a camera until she graduates high school."

The mum-of-two, who shares Rocky James, 10, with husband Freddie Prinze Jr, continued: "She says to me, 'That's unfair. You were a child actor.'"

Gellar explained: "Yes, I was. But I was not the child of two famous parents."