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Five years ago Sarah Michelle Gellar wondered if her new program, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" would even make it past the pilot. In fact, rumor had it at the time that it wouldn't make it off of the cutting room floor. Yet today, five years later, it is a huge hit and is now going into syndication. Add to that success that of her other role, Daphne in the "Scooby-Doo" movie and you know that this is one multidimensional lady.

Now, after 100 shows, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" has found an audience in the most unexpected place. It actually is more popular among adults than kids, and has become a cult phenomenom of sorts. This has proven to be a pleasant surprise to Gellar, who said, "We had an inkling that we were making a really good show. But you never know how it's going to develop, what kind of status it's going to reach, and so that's what's been a nice surprise." With the announcement Friday, April 20, that UPN has agreed to buy 44 episodes of Buffy, things are looking good for her continued success. She had indicated that if the show moved from WB, she would leave, but now says she's there for the long haul.

The show was panned by critics when it first came out as a movie, but then the Warner Brothers series took shape, and the rest is history. Not only does the program appear in live action, but now a Saturday morning cartoon version is taking shape. The plan is that the cartoon will take viewers back to Sunnydale High, when Buffy was still learning to deal with her vampire slayer status.

Of course, the possible Hollywood strike may affect production, but Buffy's director, Joss Whedon seems to almost welcome a strike. It seems he hasn't had a vacation since production began on Buffy and he's ready for one. He is quoted as saying, "If we must strike--solidarity, brothers! I'll be in my bed."

If the strike does happen, it doesn't appear that it will hurt Sarah Michelle Gellar. She's been working since she was four years old, when she was cast opposite Valerie Harper in the 1983 TV movie "An Invasion of Privacy." The native New Yorker has appeared in everything from Burger King commercials to live theatre, as a cast member in Circle in the Square production of Horton Foote's "The Widow Claire." It seems that this graduate of New York's famous Professional Children's High School has plenty of income from residuals from her over 100 shows and commercials to keep her comfortable until production resumes.

In her off camera time, Gellar is engaged to long-time boyfriend and "Scooby-Doo" co-star Freddie Prinze, Jr. The couple met in 1997 while working on "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and while no official date has been set for the wedding, spokesmen for the couple confirm that they announced their engagement at a birthday party for Prinze on Saturday, April 14, 2001. It would be the first marriage for both of them.