Kristy Swanson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Swanson in 2024 | |
| Born | (1969-12-19)December 19, 1969 (age 56)[1][2] Laguna Beach, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Kristy Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American actress. She is best recognized for having playedBuffy Summers in the 1992 filmBuffy the Vampire Slayer and appeared in the 1996 filmThe Phantom.[3]
Her first starring role was inWes Craven's horror filmDeadly Friend (1986), followed by her portrayal of Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the1987 film adaptation ofV. C. Andrews'sFlowers in the Attic (1987). Swanson also starred in several films, includingHot Shots! (1991),Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991),The Program (1993),The Chase (1994),8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997),Big Daddy (1999), andDude, Where's My Car? (2000), and appeared inPretty in Pink (1986) andFerris Bueller's Day Off (1986).
Swanson was born inSouth Laguna, California at the South Coast Community Hospital and was raised inMission Viejo, California by her parents Rosemary Albrecht and Robert Russell Swanson, a high school teacher.[4] At the age of nine, she expressed interest in acting to her parents, and began pursuing roles in television commercials. She landed her first job appearing in adoll house commercial, which was followed with several more commercial appearances.[4]
Swanson began her acting career atThe Actors Workshop withR. J. Adams and promptly moved into TV advertising roles and several one-off appearances in TV series such asCagney & Lacey andAlfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1986, she debuted on the big screen in twoJohn Hughes films:Pretty in Pink, in a non-speaking role, andFerris Bueller's Day Off as a character who announces a convoluted excuse for Ferris's absence in class. Her first starring role was later in 1986, inWes Craven'sDeadly Friend as Samantha – "the girl next door." The next year she played Cathy inFlowers in the Attic, an adaptation ofV. C. Andrews'bestselling novel.
Swanson described how she was cast inPretty in Pink: "[Writer] John Hughes said, 'We're re-shooting the end ofPretty in Pink. I was wondering if you would come be in this scene with our main character, Ducky, because the way we tested it in the movie theater, it didn't work. We need him to end up with somebody else at the end of the movie. So would you play the part?'"[5]
By 1990, Swanson had made many television appearances, including multiple appearances inKnots Landing (1987–1988),Nightingales (1989), her first starring role in a television series, although it only lasted a season, and a short-livedBurt Reynolds television series calledB.L. Stryker (1989).
Throughout the 1990s, she starred mostly in films. She played the title role in the 1992 filmBuffy the Vampire Slayer. Although not a hit at the box office originally, it had a profitable rental life. She appeared in both starring and supporting roles in films such asHot Shots!,The Program,The Chase, and her most critically acclaimed role, playing Kristen Connor, a student discovering her sexuality, inJohn Singleton'sHigher Learning. She also appeared in the film adaptation of the comic-bookThe Phantom and the dark comedy8 Heads in a Duffel Bag withJoe Pesci. Most of these films failed at the box office, and she reverted to television work in the late 1990s.[citation needed]
In the 1998–99 season ofEarly Edition, Swanson played Erica Paget, a love interest of the main character, Gary Hobson. In 1999, Swanson played Vanessa, the ex-girlfriend ofAdam Sandler in the filmBig Daddy. In 2000, she returned to a television series, as the star ofGrapevine, a revamp of a 1992 TV series that was canceled after five episodes. The same year, she starred in the successful filmDude, Where's My Car?, alongsideAshton Kutcher,Seann William Scott andJennifer Garner.
Swanson posed nude forPlayboy magazine in November 2002 in a cover-featured pictorial.[6] She appeared in and won in the 2006 Fox television programSkating with Celebrities, partnered withLloyd Eisler.
In 2007, she became aspokesperson of theMedifast diet. In the following year, she guest-starred in three episodes of the lesbian web series3Way. In the same year, she appeared in an episodeLaw & Order: Criminal Intent.
In 2021, a release date of June 15 was announced for Swanson's recent feature and a Jennifer Nichole Lee and Paul Schneider collaboration,Just Another Dream. She co-starred alongside long-time friend Dean Cain.[7]
Swanson married herSkating with Celebrities partnerLloyd Eisler in 2009. They have a son, and two children from his previous marriage.[8]
Swanson has described herself as "a proudrepublican"[9] and "#MAGA since 1969".[10] She co-starred withDean Cain in a pro-Trump stage play titledFBI Lovebirds: Undercovers directed by conservative filmmakerPhelim McAleer.[10] Swanson has said that she received death threats as a result.[10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Pretty in Pink | Duckette | |
| Miracle of the Heart: A Boys Town Story | Stephanie Gamble | TV movie | |
| Ferris Bueller's Day Off | Simone Adamley | ||
| Deadly Friend | Samantha Pringle | ||
| 1987 | Not Quite Human | Eron Jeffries | TV movie |
| Flowers in the Attic | Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger | ||
| 1988 | Nightingales | Rebecca "Becky" Granger | TV movie |
| 1990 | Dream Trap | Sue Halloran | |
| Diving In | Terry Hopkins | ||
| 1991 | Mannequin Two: On the Move | Jessie | |
| Hot Shots! | Kowalski | ||
| 1992 | Highway to Hell | Rachel Clark | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Buffy Summers | ||
| 1993 | The Chili Con Carne Club | Julie | Short |
| The Program | Camille Shafer | ||
| 1994 | The Chase | Natalie Voss | |
| Getting In | Kirby Watts | ||
| 1995 | Higher Learning | Kristen Connor | |
| 1996 | The Phantom | Diana Palmer | |
| Marshal Law | Lilly Nelson | TV movie | |
| 1997 | 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag | Laurie Bennett | |
| Lover Girl | Darlene Ferrari/"Sherry" | ||
| Tinseltown | Nikki Randall | ||
| Bad to the Bone | Francesca Wells | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Ground Control | Julie Albrecht | |
| 1999 | Supreme Sanction | Jenna | TV movie |
| Big Daddy | Vanessa | ||
| 2000 | Meeting Daddy | Laurel Lee | |
| Dude, Where's My Car? | Christie Boner | ||
| 2001 | Soul Assassin | Tessa Jansen | |
| Zebra Lounge | Louise Bauer | TV movie | |
| 2002 | Dead Silence | Dr. Julia Craig | |
| 2003 | Red Water | Dr. Kelli Raymond | TV movie |
| 2005 | Bound by Lies | Laura Cross | Video |
| Forbidden Secrets | Alexandra Kent Lambeth | TV movie | |
| Six Months Later | Linda | Short | |
| 2006 | The Black Hole | Shannon Muir | TV movie |
| Living Death | Elizabeth Harris | Video | |
| 2009 | The Closer | Kaitlyn | Short |
| 2010 | What If... | Wendy Walker | |
| 2011 | Swamp Shark | Rachel Bouchard | TV movie |
| A Christmas Wish | Martha Evans | TV movie | |
| Chick Magnet | Kristy | Video | |
| 2012 | Little Women, Big Cars | Rocky | |
| Little Women, Big Cars 2 | Rocky | ||
| Operation Cupcake | Janet Carson | TV movie | |
| 2013 | The Bouquet | Terri Benton | |
| Storm Rider | Jody Peterson | ||
| 2014 | Mom and Dad Undergrads[11] | Megan Mills | TV movie |
| Beethoven's Treasure Tail | Anne Parker | Video | |
| A Belle For Christmas | Daniella Downy | ||
| Merry Ex-Mas | Noelle | TV movie | |
| 2015 | Driven Underground | Sarah Palmer | TV movie |
| Angels in the Snow | Judith Montgomery | TV movie | |
| 2017 | Crowning Jules | Victoria | [12] |
| A Mother's Sacrifice | Kathrin | TV movie | |
| 2018 | Bad Stepmother | Louise | TV movie |
| Winter's Dream | Kat Miller | TV movie | |
| Killer Under the Bed | Sarah | ||
| Mimesis Nosferatu | Max's Mother | ||
| 2019 | PupParazzi | Latte (voice) | |
| 2020 | Psych 2: Lassie Come Home | Marlowe Viccellio | TV movie |
| The ObamaGate Movie | Lisa Page | ||
| 2021 | Trafficked: A Parent's Worst Nightmare | Joanna Riley | |
| Courting Mom and Dad | Sarah Lambert | ||
| Just Another Dream | Cindy Miller |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | It's Your Move | Laura | Episode: "Love Letters" |
| 1985 | Call to Glory | Sally | Episodes: "JFK: Parts 1 & 2" |
| Cagney & Lacey | Stephanie Brandon | Episode: "On the Street" | |
| 1986 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Female Student #2 | Episode: "The Gloating Place" |
| Disneyland | Jennifer Davis | Episode: "Mr. Boogedy" | |
| The Hogan Family | Linda Perkins | Episode: "The Big Fix-Up" | |
| 1987 | Growing Pains | Rhonda | Episode: "Thank God It's Friday" |
| 1987–88 | Knots Landing | Jody Campbell | Recurring Cast: Season 9 |
| 1988 | Ohara | Jennifer Collins | Episode: "X" |
| 1989 | Nightingales | Rebecca "Becky" Granger | Main Cast |
| B.L. Stryker | Lynn Ellingsworth | Recurring Cast: Season 1 | |
| 1998–99 | Early Edition | Erica Paget | Main Cast: Season 3 |
| 1999 | The Directors | Herself | Episode: "The Films of Wes Craven" |
| 2000 | Grapevine | Susan Crawford | Main Cast |
| 2002 | Backstory | Herself | Episode: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" |
| I Love the '80s | Herself | Episode: "1986" | |
| 2003 | The Christopher Lowell Show | Herself | Episode: "Small Spaces" |
| Just Shoot Me! | Allison Cavanaugh | Episode: "There's Something About Allison" | |
| 2004 | CSI: Miami | Roxanne Price | Episode: "Complications" |
| 2006 | Skating with Celebrities | Herself | Main Cast |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Lorelai Mailer | Episode: "Bombshell" |
| 2008 | 3Way | Leslie Lapdalulu | Recurring Cast |
| 2009 | Whatever Happened To? | Herself | Episode: "Unlikely Heroes" |
| Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Guest Cast: Season 5-6 | |
| American Chopper | Herself | Episode: "Iraq Star Foundation Bike" | |
| 2010 | One Tree Hill | Woman in Car | Episode: "Don't You Forget About Me" . |
| 2011 | Comedy Central Roast | Herself | Episode: "Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen" |
| 2011–14 | Psych | Marlowe Viccellio | Recurring Cast: Season 6-8 |
| 2012 | unCONventional | Herself | Recurring Cast |
| 2018 | Gutfeld! | Herself/Guest Panelist | Episode: "August 4, 2018" |
| 2019 | SEAL Team | Julia Logan | Recurring Cast: Season 4 |
| 2022 | Sons of Thunder | Linda Gibson | Main Cast: Season 2 |
| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Keep It Comin' (Dance Till You Can't Dance No More)" | C+C Music Factory featuringQ-Unique andDeborah Cooper | Buffy Summers |
| 2017 | "Yours If You Want It" | Rascal Flatts | Stacy |
Wins
Nominations
