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 episo ...

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. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'', where she appeared in every season (1997–2003), and her role as Mae Thompson in ''

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy 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, an ...

'' (1989).

Early life

She was born Kristine Young in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, 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 (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

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

'' film,

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

'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: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

, or his granddaughter

Sarah Sutherland Sarah Sutherland (born February 18, 1988) is a Canadian-American actress, best known for her role as Catherine Meyer in ''Veep''. Early life, family and education Sutherland was born in Los Angeles to actor Kiefer Sutherland and his first wife ...

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

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, 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, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Career

Sutherland's first film role was as a secretary in '' Legal Eagles'' (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 Joss Whedon later stated that one of the reasons he chose Sutherland for the role was 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 by a talent agent as a young child, she made her film debut at age six in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). She had her first lead ...

, who was to portray her daughter in the series. Sutherland appeared regularly on the show for the first five seasons, with only one appearance 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. The coll ...

and subsequently set up a studio specializing in portraits. In 2008, she appeared in the television miniseries '' Comanche Moon'' and had a guest role in an episode of ''

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, 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 (trading post), fac ...

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

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,'' ...

. They have one daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

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