Sarah Michelle Gellar celebrates Buffy the Vampire Slayer's 40th birthday: 'Let's all be brave'

Buffy the Vampire Slayer conquered death twice during her seven-season run at saving the world (which later continued in the comics). Seeing as few slayers, if any, have ever pulled off such a feat, it makes her latest accomplishment, turning 40, all the more impressive. 

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who brought the character to life on the hit show recently commemorated the special occasion via an Instagram post (below), both looking back at all the time that's passed since she first debuted as Buffy back in 1997 — when she was still a teenager trying to survive high school — and the message that she's stood for all these years later. 

"I just realized that today is Buffy Summers 40 bday. I can't believe that," said Gellar in the caption, which accompanied a picture of the character carrying a crossbow. "She taught that the hardest thing in the world is to live in it. So in her honor let’s all be brave. Live."

She continued, referencing the currently ongoing global pandemic, "This may not be the way we are used to living our lives, but let’s find the beauty. So we can all live long and safely. #happybirthdaybuffy #buffy40"

Even though Buffy went off the air more than a decade ago, the fandom for the series remains strong, with many fans citing the show as a formative series — be it as a tool that helped them cope with their grief or even as a beacon of much-needed LGBTQ representation at the time. So many fans joined Gellar in celebrating the occasion. 

Of course, Gellar isn't the only star of the series who looks back on her character fondly, with her co-star Alyson Hannigan recently chiming in regarding her character Willow's possibly dating Buffy herself, and fellow castmates James Marsters and Tara Benson both hoping this new generation of fans would soon be getting their own take on the series, especially after it was announced back in 2018, that the show would be getting a revival, with Monica Owusu-Breen (Midnight, Texas) showrunning the series and Buffy creator himself Joss Whedon producing. 

All seven seasons of Buffy are available to stream on Netflix.