Kristy Swanson

United States 🎬 Actresses

Kristy Swanson was the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer — the one who got a staking montage and a cheerleading uniform before Sarah Michelle Gellar made the whole concept television history. The Orange County actress starred in the 1992 feature film that spawned one of television's most beloved franchises, bringing a California-girl-meets-chosen-one energy to a role that hadn't yet found its definitive interpretation. What the film version of Buffy lacked in mythology it made up for in Swanson's commitment to the physical comedy and genuine charm of the concept. She'd been working steadily before Buffy — Pretty in Pink, Flowers in the Attic — and continued building her career after the film in television and feature work. The cultural conversation eventually moved to the television series, but Kristy Swanson's version of Buffy is the foundation on which all of it was built. With 17 images in her library, she's a piece of genre film history.