Tough Kid
ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Sara Gellar has
a plum role on
TV's 'All My
Children.'
t only 16 years old, Sara
Michelle Gellar has
added daytime soap
actress to her long list
of acting credits. While
she has performed on
the stage, screen and
prime-time television,
she just signed a
three-year contract
with the popular
ABC soap "All My
Children" to play
the plum role of
Kendall Hart,
Erica Kane's long-
lost troubled teen-
age daughter. And
she is thrilled to
have landed the
part.
"I was really
happy when I found out
that I would be working
with Susan Lucci (who
plays Erica)," said Miss
Gellar, who auditioned
with the casting director
and producer, and then
Ms. Lucci. "At first I was
nervous, but Susan is
great and put me at ease
right away."
Miss Gellar, who started
taping in March, has been
watching "All My
Children" since she was
very young and says this is
her best acting job yet.
"Everyone is so wonder-
ful that it makes it very
easy to come to work each
day," Miss Gellar said.
"The entire cast and crew
couldn't be nicer, including
Susan, who is high-spirit-
ed and always has a smile
even when she is down."
Born and raised in New
York City, Miss Gellar's
parents divorced when she
was very young. "I am an
only child and my mom
and I have always been
very close," said Miss
Gellar. Her mother teach-
es preschool in
Manhattan. "She's an
important part of my life."
Discovered at a restau-
rant while eating dinner
with her mother, Miss
Erica's TV daughter is only 16.
Gellar was 4 years old
when she began her acting
career.
"An agent came over to
my table and asked me if I
wanted to be in show busi-
ness," Miss Gellar said. "I
had no formal training."
Within a few months,
her career was launched.
After her first professional
role, where she appeared
in the television movie
"Invasion of Privacy" with
Valerie Harper, Jeff
Daniels and Carol Kane, a
stream of offers came her
way. She starred as
Sydney Rutledge in the
syndicated drama "Swan's
Crossing," and portrayed
the role of young Jackie
Kennedy in the TV minis-
eries "A Woman Named
Jackie." Other television
credits include guest
appearances on "Spenser:
For Hire" and "Love,
Sydney."
She has appeared in 100
TV commercials and was
featured in the movies
High Stakes, Over the
Brooklyn Bridge and
Funny Farm. When she
was 12, she portrayed
Molly in the pre-Broadway
cast of Neil Simon's play
Jake's Women and a differ-
ent Molly in the New York
Circle in the Square pro-
duction of The Widow
Claire, which starred
Matthew Broderick.
Fame came as a big sur-
prise. She was shocked the —
first time someone asked co
for an autograph. "I guess
I didn't realize that people
would know who I was. I
had been working very
hard on "Swans" from day 75
TOUGH KID page 87