Since starting her professional acting career in 1979, Kristy Swanson has amassed an impressive collection of credits across film and television alike, working with some of the finest actors and directors in the industry. Swanson is perhaps best known as iconic teen heroine Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a cult classic that later inspired the long-running television series of the same name.
Throughout the years, Swanson has appeared in many films, both in leading and memorable supporting roles across a variety of genres. She starred alongside Charlie Sheen in the Twentieth Century Fox action comedy The Chase, in Paramount’s superhero movie The Phantom, in Wes Craven’s horror film Deadly Friend and in the psychological thriller Flowers in the Attic, to name a few. Swanson also appeared in the iconic teen comedies Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Pretty in Pink; the Touchstone Pictures sports drama The Program with James Caan and Halle Berry; as part of an ensemble cast in John Singleton’s Higher Learning and in memorable comedic turns in the major studio films Big Daddy alongside Adam Sandler, Hot Shots alongside Charlie Sheen and Dude, Where’s My Car? alongside Ashton Kutcher.
On television, Swanson had starring roles in the CBS series “Grapevine” and NBC’s “Nightingales,” and a season of CBS’s “Early Edition,” along with a recurring role on recurring role on CBS’s “Knots Landing.” Recently, she guest starred on such popular series as NBC’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and CBS’s “CSI: Miami,” and appeared in a multi-season recurring role in USA’s “Psych.” Swanson has also appeared in a number of primetime television movies, including ABC’s “Bad to the Bone,” HBO’s “Supreme Sanction,” SyFy’s “Swamp Shark,” UP TV’s “Angels in the Snow,” Lifetime Movie Network’s “Driven Underground,” Showtime’s “Marshal Law” and Ion’s “Merry ExMas,” among others. Swanson also appeared in the Hallmark Channel Original Movies “Operation Cupcake,” “A Lesson in Romance” and “A Christmas Wish.”
Swanson appeared on—and won—“Skating With Celebrities,” a FOX reality skating competition show. She later married her skating partner, two-time Olympic medalist Lloyd Eisler. The two reside in Southern California and have one son together, Magnus Hart Swanson Eisler.
