15-05-2025
Alyson Hannigan & Sarah Michelle Gellar on 25 Years as 'Buffy' Friends (EXCL)
As the stars of the beloved series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan have served as major sources of inspiration to countless women for nearly 30 years. The two actresses, who played Buffy and Willow, were known for their strength, humor and style, and over the course of seven seasons, from 1997 to 2003, the character development of the sassy slayer and her nerdy-turned-witchy best friend remains unparalleled.
One of the things that made the series stand out was the way in which it mixed the supernatural with the relatable, and viewers could easily feel a connection with Gellar and Hannigan's characters—even if they weren't slaying vampires and casting spells. The charming chemistry the stars had on the show was real, and they remain close as ever.
Now, Gellar and Hannigan are using their real-life friendship to speak to their audience about an important but often overlooked health topic: the importance of meningitis vaccinations for teens. The actresses have just teamed up with pharmaceutical company GSK for their Ask2BSure campaign, which sees Hannigan starring in a heartfelt promotional video wherein she revisits the iconic school library from the show (and references her other popular roles in American Pie and How I Met Your Mother), all while raising awareness about protecting teens from the potentially devastating impact of meningitis. 'It's an uncommon disease, but it's so severe that it would be awful if it did get overlooked,' she says emphatically.
Gellar and Hannigan will forever be associated with their roles as teens, and now they're moms of teens themselves: Gellar has a daughter, Charlotte, and a son, Rocky, with her I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scooby-Doo costar Freddie Prinze Jr., while Hannigan has two daughters, Satyana and Keeva, with Alexis Denisof, who appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was one of the leads in its spinoff series, Angel. 'As parents, your community is where you learn information, and there's so much information that comes at us that it can be hard to discern what affects your child and what is true versus what is fiction,' Gellar explains of her connection to the Ask2BSure campaign.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan sat down with First for Women to talk about raising their kids, their sweet friendship, their favorite Buffy moments and more.
First for Women: Why did you get involved with this campaign to raise awareness about meningitis?
Alyson Hannigan: This campaign is about informing parents and empowering them to talk to their doctors about meningitis vaccination. When I had that conversation with my daughter's doctor, it was so informative. There were things that I had no idea about, because there are so many things that you think you're keeping up with, but it can easily slip through the cracks.
My friend lost one of her best friends in high school to meningitis. He was the captain of the football team, and he went home with a headache and died the next day. It was the first time she had ever even heard of meningitis, and it forever impacted all of their lives to lose somebody that quickly.
Sarah Michelle Gellar: I actually learned about this cause from Alyson. I had thought that the meningitis vaccine was just something you got as a kid, and I didn't realize that there are different vaccinations for different types of the disease.
One in 10 people who contract this wind up dead, and one in five who contract it wind up with serious lifelong issues, whether it's brain damage or loss of limbs. The 16-to-23-year-old age group is the most contagious for this illness, mainly because of the close quarters they're in with college dorms, kissing and experimenting with their lifestyle.
At this age, there are so many things we're worried about and so many questions we have for doctors, but this can be overlooked, and this campaign is about making sure you have all the information. A lot of times, you get this kind of information from other moms, which is exactly how I learned about it from Alyson.
FFW: How do you feel your friendship has evolved over the years?
AH: I remember when we were doing a reunion photo shoot for the 20th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it was the first time a lot of the cast was together. It felt completely like old times, except that we were talking a lot more about backaches and knee problems—all those issues with getting older.
When Sarah and I first met, we were playing teens and now we're both moms of teens. It's really full circle. It's so important to have people like that in your life. It's funny, because with Sarah, she's the person I would always go to with a question. If I need to know anything, she's going to have the answer, but now it's reversed with this campaign.
SMG: Alyson and I have been on a trajectory that's very similar for almost our entire lives, from being child actors to getting married around the same time to having children around the same time, and we see each other more regularly than some of the other cast members.
AH: We've run into each other in strange places.
SMG: Our bond is a little bit different because we have more shared experiences than anybody else in the cast. My kids are literally each just one year behind hers, so I'd just call her and ask her to tell me what happens next—spoiler alert!
FFW: Given the fact that you two are so close and your kids are around the same age, are they also friends with each other?
SMG: Our kids haven't seen each other in a few years. They go to different schools, so they may as well be on different continents.
AH: I feel like they would be friends. I know Keeva would adore Charlotte.
SMG: Our kids have a lot of shared experiences too, being the children of parents that are not just famous, but super recognizable for something where people feel that they have a connection. Plus, we have the whole Taylor Swift connection. We're all Swifties, except maybe Rocky, but he can still probably name every song!
FFW: What have you learned from raising your kids?
SMG: I learn from them just as much as they learn from me. I've learned about patience and what's important. We live in a very distracted, busy society, and the most important things are connections and community.
AH: It's been so interesting for me to be a mom of two girls. I was an only child, so now I get to see the sibling dynamic.
SMG: I was an only child, too, and when they argue, I get very upset.
AH: They've been really good for a long time, but in the teen years, there's a little more arguing than I expected. I actually had a conversation with them where I was like, 'Okay, guys, I know you like to tease each other and sometimes it goes wrong, but then I worry that you won't be friends when you grow up, if it gets too harsh.' They mocked me so much for that! They would say something to each other and then joke, 'Oh, are we still going to be friends?'
SMG: Do they give you the 'You don't know what it's like, you don't have siblings' line? I get that all the time.
AH: I think that's just understood. My husband tells me that. He's like, 'This is nothing, you should've seen what I was like with my sister.'
SMG: Freddie and I are both only children and we take it so personally, but our kids are like, 'We're siblings, that's what we do.' And I'm like, 'But is it?'
AH: And then they get over it so fast! I'm so impressed with how they won't be in a bad mood after having just had an argument. I've learned a lot from them.
FFW: You've both been married to your costars for over 20 years, and such long-lasting relationships are unusual in Hollywood. What has it been like working with your spouses, and how have you kept your marriages so solid?
SMG: For me, it's always about keeping it private. I always say that there's Sarah Michelle Gellar and there's Sarah Prinze, and we really respect those boundaries. At the end of the day, a relationship, whether it's a marriage, a friendship or a familial relationship, is all about putting the time and the effort in and making it important.
AH: We're always making sure to be on the same page with where our priorities are, and we're just a good team. We both want the same thing, which is a happy family. Neither one of us had that growing up, so we really cherish and respect that we have it now. We always say how glad we are that we found each other.
SMG: I got to watch them fall in love!
AH: We've worked together since being a couple, but he wouldn't date me when we first met.
SMG: But you had a crush.
AH: Oh, for sure. A crazy crush! But he was sensible.
SMG: You wore him down!
AH: I'm just stubborn.
FFW: What are some of your favorite memories from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'?
AH: I'm just happy to remember that we worked together at all! I feel like I have two lives. I have before kids and after kids, and I don't really remember the part before kids. It's vague. I'll see clips and be like, 'Oh, I must have been there.'
I remember back when I was first on Twitter years ago and my daughter was a baby, I was flipping channels and an old episode of Buffy came on. Wentworth Miller was in it. I was like, 'I didn't know Wentworth Miller was on our show!' So I thought, 'Oh, I'll go to the internet, because that's what people do.' Within seconds, there were screenshots of me in a scene with him, and I didn't even remember it at first.
SMG: You were the first person on TV to use Google as a verb. I always bring that up. You're in the history books for that. Meanwhile, I was never on the computer. I think I was the last person in the cast to even get on email.
AH: I remember we all had a debate about how it was pronounced. Like, 'Is it Goggle or Google?' That's not the first takeaway from the show, but it's a big one. It's a montage of memories.
SMG: Everything's a montage. Someone will meet you on the street and say, 'Remember this episode? Remember this line?' and you'll be like, 'I don't, but I'm sure I was Buffy in that scene too.' We don't always have those specific things that we can pull. It's like, 'I'm sure I was there, and I'm sure it was really cool.'
AH: A lot of my memories are from pictures that I've signed and remembering what I'm wearing in the photo. Actually, I just remembered one of my favorite outfits from the show. It was in the episode with John Ritter. I wore a rubber duckie shirt, and I was obsessed. I loved it, and he went to the wardrobe to make sure I could keep it.
SMG: John Ritter was actually the first person that I told when I got my part in Cruel Intentions. They came to the set that day to tell me, and I was so excited, I blurted it out to him. He didn't know what I was talking about, but he made the biggest deal and got me a cake because he knew that I was excited and it was important.
FFW: So many women have been inspired by you over the years. Who are some of the women you've found inspiration from?
AH: Taylor Swift, always. And Pam Fryman, who directed all of How I Met Your Mother.
SMG: I try to take inspiration from everyone, whether it's a person I meet on the street or my mother, because there's stuff to learn from everyone. You just have to keep your eyes open.
