- Sarah Michelle Gellar has confirmed that Dolly Parton was a producer on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
- "We never saw her, but we'd get Christmas gifts," Gellar said on "The Tonight Show."
Dolly Parton is well known for her philanthropic efforts, having worked with her own charity The Dollywood Foundation for over 35 years and donated $1 million dollars towards coronavirus-fighting research in 2020.
But it turns out that the iconic country singer has also used her fortune to make great strides forward in the world of entertainment too, and secretly funded "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" — something that was just confirmed by the show's lead star, Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Asked about the rumors that have been circulating the internet over the last few years during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" Tuesday, Gellar nodded and said: "Yes, little-known fact. The legend Dolly Parton was a producer."
Gellar explained that the "Jolene" singer helped produce the show through her company Sandollar Entertainment, alongside her friend and former manager Sandy Gallin.
The production company had first produced the 1992 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" movie, which flopped at the box office, and decided to turn it into a television show for The WB.
While Parton's contribution was never publicly recognized at the time, Sandollar is listed in the end credits of every episode of the supernatural show, which ran for 144 episodes and seven seasons between 1997 to 2003.
Gellar went on to explain that Parton really did live up to her name of "silent producer," as during the seven seasons that she played Buffy, she never once met her.
"But we'd get Christmas gifts in the beginning that would have our name and I would think, 'She doesn't know who I am,'" she said.
"And then one day somebody asked her about it and she complimented the show and my performance, and I was like, 'Oh, I can die now.'"
"Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I'm good," she added laughing.
Parton herself has kept quiet about the fundamental role she played in bringing the feminist icon that is Buffy Summers into the homes and hearts of millions, but the show did seemingly honor her contribution by giving the character the same birthday as Parton (January 19).
Through Sandollar Productions, Parton has also helped produce a number of films, including "Father of the Bride," "Fly Away Home," and the 1995 remake of "Sabrina."
Projects Parton has starred in, including the Netflix anthology series "Dolly Parton's Heartstrings" and "Christmas on the Square," also credit Sandollar Productions as a production company.