Where are the cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer now? From leading lady Sarah Michelle Gellar to ultimate super villain James Marsters

Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a binge-worthy supernatural TV show, which had fans hooked from the day of its release in 1997.

And hellmouth survivors have longed for a Friends-esque reunion episode since its demise in May 2003 after seven seasons.

Now their prayers have been answered – podcast series Slayers: A Buffyverse Story – which fans hope will improve the show’s previous spinoff, Angel.

From leading woman Sarah Michelle Gellar to her ultimate super villain James Marsters, MailOnline takes a look at where the 90s stars are now. 

From leading woman Sarah Michelle Gellar to her ultimate super villian James Marsters, MailOnline has revealed where the 90s stars are now 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted on March 10, 1997 and ran for seven seasons until 2003, leading to the spin-off show Angel, which ran for five seasons

Buffy Anne Summers – Sarah Michelle Gellar

The on-screen heroine who went from a child star to a big-screen sensation.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, 46, played the ultimate butt-kicking, wise-cracking, vamp-vanquishing 15-year-old high schooler.

But little did she know that at just 19, she would inspire decades of vampire teen dramas across the globe.

After a short first season as Buffy and coming out with a major role in I Know What You Did Last Summer, Sarah quickly shot to fame in the 90s.

She graced the cover of magazines, hosted Saturday Night Live, and appeared in several big movies like Cruel Intentions and Scooby-Doo.

Buffy and her friends refer to themselves several times as the Scooby Gang on the show – a name that fans to this day still associate with the American actress.

When Buffy ended, Sarah starred in The Grudge, Suburban Girl, and Veronika Decides to Die, as well as the short-lived TV shows Ringer and The Crazy Ones.

The pop culture fixture earned a People’s Choice Award for her role in The Crazy Ones, but this was cancelled after the untimely death of her co-star, Robin Williams.

But her skills are not limited to acting as the star took a career diversion and explored the world of cooking.

Sarah launched her own healthy baking company, Foodstirs, and published a cookbook, Stirring up Fun with Food, in 2017.

It is fair to say that the late 90s and early 2000s was a time not to forget as she tied the knot with Freddie Prinze, Jr in 2002 – they are still happily married today.

For the last decade, Sarah has mostly focused on raising her two children, Charlotte, 14 and Rocky, 11, and she is now ready to dip her toes back in the Hollywood pool.

For the first time in 12 years, she is set to return to the big screen with a Teen Wolf spinoff, Wolf Pack by Paramount+.

She will take on the role of Kristin Ramsey, an arson investigator hired to examine the aftermath of wildfires in LA that leave a supernatural creature in their wake.

The ‘dance mom’ allegedly took on the new role to inspire Charlotte – her eldest has shown a keen interest in following her mother’s footsteps in Hollywood.

After 25 years since the show aired, Sarah revealed to Vogue that she would even be up for a Buffy reboot.

She told the fashion publication: ‘One hundred per cent if the story is right. The way the show was left, any girl who wants the power can have the power.

‘It doesn’t even have to be Buffy’s story, per se; it could be any of the slayers’ stories when you open it up like that.’

The show starred Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role (pictured left in 1997 and right in 2023)

The butt-kicking, wise-cracking, vamp-vanquishing star of the show was 15 years old when the series premiered – though Gellar was 19 at the time

Buffy ran for seven seasons until 2003, starting on The WB and ending its run on UPN

Gellar married Freddie Prinze Jr. shortly before Buffy wrapped. The couple will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this year

They have two kids, 12-year-old Charlotte and nine-year-old Rocky

She’s also launched her own healthy baking company, Foodstirs, and published a cookbook, Stirring up Fun with Food, in 2017

Willow Rosenberg – Alyson Hannigan

From the shy, unpopular nerd in season one to a brave, powerful witch in season seven. It is not just Willow Rosenberg who went through massive changes.

The actress who plays her, Alyson Hannigan, has also had some drastic developments since the show’s finale.

During the show’s 145-episode run, Alyson starred in iconic comedies, American Pie, 2 and 3. She soon became a comedic legend after uttering the words ‘This one time, at band camp…’

But Alyson, 48, didn’t hang around for long. Just two years later, she landed another famous role on another hit TV gig – Lily Aldrin in How I Met Your Mother.

She bagged the hit role as the co-creator Craig Thomas was a huge Buffy fan.

‘Yeah, arguably that’s why we cast Alyson,’ he said in a 2005 interview.

‘None of us knew about Buffy, and my wife said, “Watch Buffy.” And we became almost embarrassingly huge Buffy dorks to the point where I think Alyson is uncomfortable around us sometimes.’

When season nine ended along with the show, Alyson had a run of unsuccessful TV pilots.

The first was More Time with Family, penned by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, which was passed on by the network.

The Five Wives Club and Man of the House, both starring the actress, was also canned.

But Alyson found herself centre stage again after hosting Penn & Teller: Fool Us between the third and ninth season, with Brooke Burke taking over for Season 10 in 2023.

Now, the mother-of-two is trying her hand at dance and has made it to the finals of Dancing With The Stars with pro dancer Harry Jowsey.

Thankfully, Alyson has had better luck with her love life than Willow.

She met her husband Alexis Denisof, 59, in 1999, with whom she tied the knot in 2003. They share two children, 14-year-old Satyana and 11-year-old Keeva.

The pair have shared a true love story as they have been inseparable over the last two decades.

From the shy, unpopular nerd in season one to a brave, powerful witch in season seven. It is not just Willow Rosenberg who went through massive change (L in 2003, R in 2023)

Alyson Hannigan pictured with leading lady Sarah after they reunited 25 years after the show first aired

During the show’s 145-episode run, Alyson starred in iconic comedies, American Pie, 2 and 3

Now, the mother-of-two is trying her hand at dance and has made it to the finals of Dancing With The Stars with pro dancer Harry Jowsey

David Boreanaz – Angel

While Angel may never age, David Boreanaz does, and he has done like a fine wine.

David, 54, became a big hit with the Buffyverse fandom and quickly starred in his own spinoff, Angel.

His character followed the vampire-with-a-soul’s demon-fighting detective agency in LA. He went back for a few episodes here and there and continued on Angel for a year after Buffy wrapped.

But when his vamp days ended, it didn’t take him long to star in another big-hit series, Bones.

Starring opposite Emily Deschanel, David played Seeley Booth for 12 seasons from 2005 to 2017.

Not wasting any time, David quickly moved on to star in SEAL Team, which has just been renewed for an eighth season.

He plays Jason Hayes, a respected, intense leader of the Tier One team whose home life has suffered due to his extensive warrior existence.

Unlike his fellow co-stars, David’s love life has been drama-filled.

The star has been married to his second wife, former Playboy model Jaime Bergman, since 2001. Together they have two kids, Jaden, 21, and Bella, 13.

In 2010, when Jaime was pregnant with Bella, David admitted to having an affair with Rachel Uchitel, 48, who is best known as being one of Tiger Woods’ mistresses.

He and his wife are still together and started a nail polish line with two friends called Chrome Girl.

The vampire with a soul, Angel was played by David Boreanaz on the show, before his character left for a spin-off (pictured left in 1997, right in 2020)

Angel’s doomed love affair with Buffy kept viewers enthralled – and a huge fanbase got him a spinoff

The star has been married to his second wife, former Playboy model Jaime Bergman, since 2001. Together they have two kids, Jaden, 19, and Bella, 12 

Xander Harris actor Nicholas Brendon

Buffy’s good guy became a real-life bad boy as Nicholas Brendon, who plays Xander Harris, became embroiled in real-life scandals over rehab stints and multiple arrests.

Appearing in all but one episode of the show, Xander was one of Buffy’s many friends who assisted her in saving the world against numerous supernatural events that plagued Sunnydale, California.

Like most of the cast, he kept up his acting career when the show came to an end and he moved on to a co-starring role with Bradley Cooper in Kitchen Confidential from 2005 to 2006.

Nicholas, 52, also appeared in the films The Portal, Unholy, Big Gay Love, and Indigo and had arcs on the shows Private Practice and Criminal Minds.

But his personal life has grabbed more headlines than his on-screen performances.

He went to rehab twice, in 2004 and 2010, and has been arrested several times over the past decade.

In 2010, he was charged with four misdemeanours and given a suspended one-year jail sentence for resisting arrest, battery against a police officer, and vandalism.

He was arrested five subsequent times for allegedly choking his girlfriend, trashing a Florida hotel room, and being found drunk on a beach.

‘When you wake up in jail and you’re not sure why you’re there, that’s a very, very lonely feeling,’ he told Dr. Phil in a TV interview in 2015. Later that year, a video surfaced of the actor’s ‘suicide attempt’ in Saratoga Springs, New York.

In 2016, he told Us Weekly that he was still committed to overcoming his addiction issues but had recently relapsed.

He was arrested in 2017 for allegedly assaulting a girlfriend. He eventually entered a plea deal and was sentenced to three years probation and 20 hours of community service. He was also required to complete a year-long domestic violence course.

In August of 2021, he was arrested again and spent a night in jail, this time for failing to identify and obtain a prescription by fraud.

After the arrest, he pulled out of all promotions for Wanton Want after suffering ‘paralysis in his genitals’ and legs, which he said was caused by sleeping on the jail’s concrete floor.

His health has only declined from here as the troubled star was rushed to hospital after suffering a second ‘cardiac incident’ in August 2022 after having two spinal surgeries.

Buffy fans have not heard much of the troubled star recently as he has been radio silent on social media since May 2023.

Nicholas Brendon played Xander, the third member of the original Scooby Trio (pictured left in 1997 and right in 2021)

He had a co-starring role with Bradley Cooper in the short-lived series Kitchen Confidential from 2005 to 2006

His personal drama, though, has grabbed more headlines than the on-screen kind. He went to rehab twice, in 2004 and 2010

James Marsters as Spike

Gaining a reputation after being the second vampire to sleep with Buffy, Spike was the ultimate supervillain.

He was notorious for his love for killing and causing mayhem after he gained the deaths of two Slayers under his belt.

Spike came to Sunnydale to restore his criminally insane lover to health by sacrificing Angel, the love interest of protagonist Buffy.

Although his plans were often thwarted time and time again by Buffy, the two developed a complicated relationship that was infamous for being mutually abusive – a dark mirror of her prior relationship with Angel.

Clearly a pro at playing the bad guy, James, 61, continued his role as Spike on Angel for the show’s final season in 2004.

In 2005, James played Brainiac on Smallville until 2010 and went on to have short arcs on Without a Trace, Caprica, and Hawaii Five-0.

The former teen heartthrob moved on to Marvel in 2017, playing Victor Stein on two seasons of Runaways.

James has also appeared as Captain John Hart on the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood. The popular role was specifically written for him by showrunner Russell T Davies.

While his acting career is still thriving, some fans have come to love the actor for his talents as a musician. He released four albums with the band Ghost of the Robot and two solo albums.

James is now starring in a new series, Casa Grande, where he plays the supporting character Miller Dalton and has appeared in three episodes.

The original vampire bad boy was twice divorced from Liane Davidson in 1997 and Patricia Rahman in 2021.

He and Liane share a son, Sullivan, 27, who is also a musician.

James Marsters played Spike (a.k.a. William the Bloody) and reprised the role on Angel (pictured left in 1999 and right in 2019)

Though his character was a super villain for much of the show, he eventually reclaimed his soul

He moved on to Marvel in 2017, playing Victor Stein on two seasons of Runaways

Rupert Giles- Anthony Head

Unlike Rupert Giles’ shaky start in the Council’s fold, Anthony Head’s acting career has been steady and reliable.

After he played the Watcher and father figure to Buffy for five years, Anthony, 69, made his debut on the UK sketch show Little Britain in 2003 as the Prime Minister.

He also played the king on the five-season UK series Merlin and had a supporting role in the Meryl Streep film The Iron Lady, about the life of late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Other roles have included the TV shows You, Me & Them, Dominion, Still Star-Crossed, The Split, The Stranger, Ted Lasso, The Canterville Ghost and Bridgerton.

Antony will take up his old role 25 years later this year as Giles in the new spinoff show Slayers.

Anthony’s daughters — Emily, 34, and Daisy, 32 — have followed in their father’s footsteps in TV stardom as his eldest has appeared in 280 episodes of Emmerdale, while his youngest starred in the short-lived Freeform show Guilt.

He now lives in Bath, Somerset, with his wife of 41 years, Sarah Fisher, 59, with who they share both children.

Anthony Stewart Head played Rupert Giles, Buffy’s watcher – who became a sort of father-figure for the teen (pictured left in 1997 and right in 2021)

He spent several years on the UK sketch show Little Britain and popped up in over a dozen other shows, including Still Star-Crossed (pictured

Head is pictured in The Canterville Ghost. He has also been in The Stranger and Ted Lasso

He has two grown daughters, Emily (left) and Daisy (right), who are also actors

Faith Lehane – Eliza Dushku

Though Faith Lehane may not have entered the show until 1998, the beloved character was an integral part of Buffyverse.

After turning the tables and betraying the high schooler, Faith found herself in the centre of turmoil after surviving a coma and fighting with Angel.

Her coveted role in the show saw her appear on the spinoff, Angel.

During her years of slaying vampires, Eliza also starred as a cheerleader in Bring it On and a high schooler in The New Guy.

After both Buffyverse shows ended, she starred in Tru Calling from 2003 to 2005 and another series by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, Dollhouse, from 2009 to 2010.

Most recently, she produced Mapplethorpe.

In her private life, the 43-year-old dated NBA star Rick Fox from 2009 to 2014, and in 2018, married Peter Palandjian, a former professional tennis player. They have two sons, four-year-old Philip and two-year-old Bodan.

Eliza also struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction but has been sober for over a decade.

‘[Using] was fun, and I loved it, until it wasn’t. Drugs didn’t love me. They didn’t love my family. They definitely didn’t love my friends that died. I have a lot of friends that are dead,’ she said.

‘I’m a good person, but when I did drugs, and I drank, I didn’t make good decisions. I got sober for my family, but today, I’m sober for me, and I’m sober for you. Drugs and alcohol are powerful, but we’re more powerful.’

In January 2018, Eliza went public with accusations of sexual molestation against stunt coordinator Joel Kramer, whom she claims abused her when she was 12 and working on True Lies.

Eliza claimed that after she told an adult friend and that friend confronted Kramer, she was injured on set during a stunt, sustaining several broken ribs.

A year later, she also reached a $9.5 million settlement with CBS after she was fired from the TV show Bull. She claimed the show’s star, Michael Weatherly, made sexually inappropriate comments about her on set.

Eliza Dushku joined the series as Faith in season 3, the slayer-turned-bad (pictured left in 1998 and right in 2019)

After turning the tables and betraying the high schooler, Faith found herself in the centre of turmoil after surviving a coma and fighting with Angel. Her coveted role in the show saw her appear on the spinoff, Angel 

During her years of slaying vampires, Eliza also starred as a cheerleader in Bring it On and a high schooler in The New Guy

In her private life, the 43-year-old dated NBA star Rick Fox from 2009 to 2014, and in 2018, married Peter Palandjian, pictured, a former professional tennis player

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