Kristen Noel Swanson is an American actress. She is best recognized for having played Buffy Summers in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer and appeared in the 1996 film The Phantom. Her first starring role was in Wes Craven`s horror film Deadly Friend (1986), followed by her portrayal of Catherine Cathy Dollanganger in the film adaptation of V. C. Andrews`s Flowers in the Attic (1987). Swanson also starred in several films, including Hot Shots! (1991), The Program (1993), The Chase (1994), 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997), Big Daddy (1999), and Dude, Where`s My Car? (2000), and appeared in Pretty in Pink (1986) and Ferris Bueller`s Day Off (1986).