Kristine Sutherland (born Kristine Young; April 17, 1955) is an American actress best known for her starring role as

Buffy Summers Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998 ...

' mother

Joyce Summers Joyce Summers is a fictional character in the action-horror television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). Played by Kristine Sutherland, Joyce is the mother of the main character, Buffy Summers, and appears in 58 of the 144 episod ...

on the television series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'', where she appeared in every season, and her role as Mae Thompson in ''

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Kri ...

'' (1989).

Early life

She was born Kristine Young in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

, and changed her name because she was often confused with another similarly named actress. The last name "Sutherland" was after her cat, whom she named "Donald" after

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...

, who, coincidentally, had a role in the original ''

'' film,

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...

's first attempt to bring Buffy to audiences. She is not related to Donald Sutherland, his sons Kiefer, Rossif and

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

, or his granddaughter

Sarah Sutherland Sarah Jude Sutherland is a Canadian-American actress, best known for her role as Catherine Meyer in ''Veep''. Early life Sutherland was born in Los Angeles, California, to Kiefer Sutherland and his first wife, Camelia Kath. She is the granddau ...

.Buffyguide.com
/ref> She attended high school in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, where she participated in the Tates Creek Drama program. After graduating, she enrolled in the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

Career

Sutherland's first film role was as a secretary in ''

Legal Eagles ''Legal Eagles'' is a 1986 American legal romantic comedy mystery crime thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. from a story by Reitman and the screenwriters, and starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger, and ...

'' (1986). She appeared as Mae Thompson in the 1989 film ''

''. Her career received a big boost when she played Buffy's mother in the action-horror television series ''

'', from 1997 to 2002. Creator

later stated that one of the reasons he chose Sutherland for the role was the fact that she exuded a warm demeanor, as well as what he believed to be a close resemblance to actress

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

, who was to portray her daughter in the series. She appeared regularly on the show for the first five seasons before leaving, but returned for three more guest appearances, one in season 6 and two in season 7. After leaving ''Buffy'', Sutherland attended a photography course at the

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Althoug ...

and subsequently set up a studio specializing in portraits. In 2008, she appeared in the television miniseries ''

Comanche Moon ''Comanche Moon'' (1997) is a western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the fourth and final book he published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series. In terms of chronology, it is the second installment of the narrative. A Comanche Moon ...

'' and had a guest role in an episode of ''

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

''. She voiced Haru's Mother in the English dub of ''

The Cat Returns is a 2002 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Hiroyuki Morita, produced by Toshio Suzuki and Nozomu Takahashi, written by Reiko Yoshida, based on the manga ''The Cat Returns'' by Aoi Hiiragi, with music by Yuji Nomi, animated by Studio ...

''.

Personal life

Sutherland is married to actor

John Pankow John Pankow (born April 28, 1954) is an American actor. He began his career on-stage in New York, in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway plays including Peter Shaffer's ''Amadeus'', John Patrick Shanley's ''Italian American Reconciliation,'' and ...

. They have one daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Kristine 1955 births Living people Actresses from Idaho 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses American voice actresses