Sarah Michelle Gellar Reveals Why She Stepped Away From Hollywood

Sarah Michelle Gellar recently revealed why she disappeared from Hollywood for over a decade.

In the January 7 episode of the Shut Up Evan podcast, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, 48, opened up about her extended time off from acting. She did so while promoting her new film Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, which will hit theaters in March.

“I took a lot of years off. And I think I feel like I’m first getting my sea legs back now and like ready to work now that my kids are older,” Gellar told host Evan Ross Katz.

The Cruel Intentions actress shares two children, Charlotte, 16, and Rocky, 13, with her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., 49.

Additionally, Gellar touched on how the death of her Crazy Ones costar, Robin Williams, affected her. Williams — who died by suicide at 63 in 2014 — played her onscreen father in the CBS sitcom.

“I had children back to back. I started Crazy Ones when my son was 3 months old. I mean, I was breastfeeding the entire time, and then Robin passed away, and everything just sort of hit me,” she shared.

Gellar continued, “It was like the postpartum hit me. And that loss was so huge, and I felt a little directionless for the first time in my life. And I thought maybe that’s my sign that, like, I’m not living the moments enough because they can go away so quickly. And at that point, I just said I needed to take a break.”

Gellar said in hindsight, she is “so glad” that she took that time off, pointing out, “I’ll never get that time back with my kids.”

She explained, “I didn’t miss a show, a performance, a first step, a lost tooth. Like, there was every moment I was able to be there for. And that’s not something you can do as a working actor. Our days are long. We travel a lot.”

Now, Gellar said she can be more choosy with the projects she takes because her self-worth is not tied to constantly working.

“I pick jobs because I really want to work with that person. Or, I think this would be so much fun,” she shared. “I don’t have this desire to prove stuff that I used to have.”

Finally, Gellar expressed gratitude for being able to return to acting after an extended hiatus.

“When you do step away from acting, you never know if there’s going to be a career to go back to,” she acknowledged. “It doesn’t matter who you are. Sometimes audiences move on, and that’s OK. Like, that’s acceptable. I’m very, very grateful that I have found that’s not been the case, and there’s still a place for me.”

In addition to Ready or Not 2, Gellar will reprise her character, Buffy Summers, in the Hulu series Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, in theaters March 27, 2026; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, premieres in 2026