American actress Kristine Sutherland has portrayed several characters in various movies and television shows since Buffy The Vampire Slayer ended in 2003. On Buffy, Sutherland played the role of Joyce Summers, the mother of the title character. Sutherland was in every season of Joss Whedon's hit supernatural drama, appearing in a total of 58 episodes.
In the show, Buffy Summers is endowed with supernatural forces and superhuman abilities as the Slayer, which she uses to fight vampires, demons, and other evil entities in the fictional town of Sunnydale, California. Buffy is given these powers first when she's 15. Initially, Joyce is unaware of this situation and her daughter's calling as a vampire slayer until Buffy is forced to tell her the truth at the end of season 2. At first, Joyce is stunned at this revelation, but she overcomes her shock and, throughout the TV show, remains a pillar of support for Buffy and her friends.
In season 5 of the show—which introduces Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers—Joyce became more of a central character, as now she is tasked with raising two daughters instead of just looking after Buffy. She becomes lonely as Buffy's increasing responsibilities keep her busy, and eventually she develops a brain tumor. Buffy, who started college in season 4, moves out of her dorm and back home to help her mother following her brain surgery. Eventually, Joyce succumbs to the cancer, and Buffy and her friends gather to reckon with their grief in one of the most powerful story arcs of the show. Season 5, episode 16, "The Body", in which Buffy finds her mother's lifeless body and the Scooby Gang deals with the aftermath of Joyce's passing has been called one of the saddest moments of the show. Whedon has gone as far to say it's the best thing he'll ever do. Sutherland certainly made an impact on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but what has the actress done since?
Sutherland's first TV role following the end of Buffy was in a 2002 episode of Providence. In 2008, Sutherland appeared in episodes of Comanche Moon and New Amsterdam, and from 2010-2011 she acted in four episodes of One Life to Live. Her most recent TV appearance was in a 2013 episode of The Following. Movie-wise, Sutherland's first role following the end of Buffy was a voice part in the 2005 movie, The Cat Returns. Later, in 2012, she played Meryl Fowler in The Perfect Wedding. In 2016 alone, Sutherland had roles in the movie Russian Doll and the short film, Are You Afraid of the '90s?
Of course, before Buffy the Vampire Slayer made Sutherland more well-known to a wide audience of devoted fans, she had parts on the TV shows Hot Pursuit, Remington Steel, Easy Street, and The Art of Being Nick. Most notably, she played the role of Mae Thompson in the 1989 film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.