Sarah Michelle Gellar Took Acting Break Because of Robin Williams' Death: 'Everything Just Sort of Hit Me'
- - Sarah Michelle Gellar Took Acting Break Because of Robin Williams' Death: 'Everything Just Sort of Hit Me'
Virginia ChamleeJanuary 8, 2026 at 9:37 PM
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Daniele Venturelli/Getty; John M. Heller/Getty
Sarah Michelle Gellar; Robin Williams -
Sarah Michelle Gellar is sharing that she needed a break from Hollywood following the death of her friend and co-star Robin Williams
In a new interview, she spoke about her role as Williams' on screen daughter in the CBS sitcom The Crazy Ones
"Robin passed away, and everything just sort of hit me," she said
Sarah Michelle Gellar is opening up about needing to take a brief break from acting following the death of her friend and former co-star, Robin Williams.
In the January 7 episode of the Shut Up Evan podcast, the 48-year-old actress spoke about her role as Williams' on screen daughter in the CBS sitcom The Crazy Ones, which aired from 2013 to 2014.
The series marked Williams' final television role before the actor died by suicide at age 63 on Aug. 11, 2014. It was later discovered Williams had Lewy body dementia, the second-most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer's disease.
“I had children back to back. I started The Crazy Ones when my son was 3 months old," Gellar said on the podcast. "I was breastfeeding the entire time. And then, Robin passed away, and everything just sort of hit me.”
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Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Crazy Ones.
She continued: "The postpartum hit me, and that loss was so huge and I just felt — I felt a little directionless for the first time in my life. And I thought, 'Maybe that's my sign that, like, I'm not living the moments enough. Because they can go away so quickly. And at that point I just said I needed to take a break."
Gellar added that the time was well spent, saying, "I'll never get that time back with my kids. I didn't miss a show, a performance, a first step, a lost tooth. There was every moment I was able to be there for. And that's not something you can do as a working actor. Our days are long, we travel a lot. I couldn't have done that."
She now appreciates her career and life in "a different way," she said.
"I also pick my projects differently now.... work defined how I thought of myself. Now, work is just a part of how I think of myself," she said.
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The actress was recently announced as one of the panel of judges on Netflix's upcoming Star Search.
On Tuesday, Jan. 6, the streaming platform announced its upcoming revival of the hit talent competition series will feature a judging panel of Gellar, Jelly Roll, and Chrissy Teigen.
Anthony Anderson will host the show, which will air live on the streaming platform over five weeks starting on Jan. 20. Episodes will air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET with viewers voting in real time using their TV remote or Netflix app.
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum is married to She's All That actor Freddie Prinze Jr. and the two share daughter Charlotte Grace, whom they welcomed in 2009, and son Rocky James, who arrived in 2012.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
