Sarah Michelle Gellar

This beauty appeared in commercials as a young child, but she quickly segued into TV and film roles. Her banner year came in 1997: Not only did Gellar garner attention in two big-screen horror fests — Scream 2 and I Know What You Did Last Summer (costarring her future husband, Freddie Prinze Jr.) — she also signed on as an exterminator of the undead in the long-running cult series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. During her tenure, Gellar made a bid for big-screen stardom as a villain in Cruel Intentions and an airhead in the critically reviled but popular Scooby-Doo films, costarring her spouse. When Buffy ended in 2003, she slowed down the pace a bit, but after The Grudge became a surprise hit in 2004, she found herself back in the spotlight.