New York Taught Gellar Diversity

Sarah Michelle Gellar is a proud New Yorker - because the city enabled her to appreciate a multi-faceted way of life.

The actress was happy to spend her formative years in the East Coast metropolis - instead of the acting-concentrated world of Los Angeles.

The 25-year-old says, "It was pretty swell growing up in New York. Hollywood is not your main industry. You have Wall Street, publishing, fashion, medicine. Acting is just a small part. You learn about so many other things because you're not stuck in a town where if you're not an actor, your the shoe salesman to the stars."

If New York was one influence on her, the other thing that drove her to worldwide fame was her doting mother, who had to raise the young Gellar single handed.

She says, "The other influence on me was my mother. Acting was never pushed on me. If my grades ever got below an A, it was time to stop. No more auditions."