Unfortunately, her claim to fame was marrying Tom Cruise

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Actually she would have probably be a bigger star then she is now. She became famous from Dawson's Creek, had built some indie cred int he industry with Pieces of April and The Gift and then she was Rachel in Batman Begins with a million dollar payday. If she hadn't hooked up with Cruise she would have done The Dark Knight as Rachel and that would have propelled her into over 1 million a picture. But Cruise talked her out of Dark Knight and into Mad Money.. and her career spiraled from there.

Sarah Michelle Gellar was in her prime the same time that Katie was, and she was more popular and successful. While Katie was popular for Dawson's Creek, SMG was known as "the face of the WB." Gellar won an Emmy for earlier work (All my Children) and appeared in the biggest teen flicks of that era. Twelve years ago, you could've argued that she was on her way to having a great career but instead, she's now a has-been and her career is pretty much dead. There are others stars from that era who were big and are now nowhere to be seen.

I highly doubt that Katie's career would've flourished if she hadn't married Tom Cruise. She's not that great of an actress and I've never felt that she had any "it" qualities to keep herself in the spotlight very long. I'd say that the marriage extended her time in the public consciousness.

Sarah Michelle Gellar basically put her acting in the backseat after she had her daughter. She wanted to be a present mommy unlike other actresses who let nannies raise their kids. She has stated in interviews that she wanted to be there for her children and not leave them alone while traveling country to country or having to drag them to sets traveling. So she probably only took jobs that were closer to home so she could be a mommy. That is more then likely the reason why SMG career went dead, not b/c she didn't lousy work.

I have a feeling if Katie had kept in the Indie films (which she had a big following in) along with other movies also she is still doing films, even if the films weren't the best at least she was still working. From what I read (not knowing if they are true) that TC made many of Katie's movie choices for her. Also both of TC's exs have had better careers since they were divorced from TC, so why wouldn't Katie?

Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.

I love SMG, but...no. Her career became troubled when Scooby-Doo 2 was her first post-Buffy flick. The Grudge was even a surprise hit to her own talent agent, and she made a string of unreleased/straight-to-DVD films from 2005 until Ringer hit The CW. She never quite managed to rise above genre films--teen, family, and then horror--or forge her own screen persona outside of "Buffy Summers".

As for Katie, her career was in this weird transition stage post-DC, where her acting was critically acclaimed, but her film roles weren't strong enough to push her into the A-list (they were either indie, or she was secondary lead, or it was a flop mainstream film). If she hadn't hooked up with Tom, there is a chance she could have had, say, Anne Hathaway's career, but now we'll never know because her fame as Tom's wife/ex-wife/Scientologist escapee overshadows her acting.

Sarah did not chose to be a full time mom. She starred in a TV show last year but it was cancelled. She has tried to come back but hasnt had much luck yet... Im sure Sarah will eventually find a new TV show though, I actually have higher hopes for her than Katie.

Mimi Rogers' career was bigger after divorcing Tom Cruise? I'd say it remained on the same trajectory it was on pre-Cruise. And Kidman began to really blow up around her divorce to Cruise, but since her Oscar, she's struggled to remain relevant. Lots of low budget art films typical of someone trying to build a career, not sustain one. I'm thinking it has to do with finding good parts at her age, which is difficult for an actress.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is not a has-been. She may not be an A-list celebrity but just because an actor isn't an A-list celebrity doesn't mean they're a has-been. A has-been is someone who is no longer relevant or popular, but she still is because she was on Ringer in 2012, although that show was cancelled, she was still on the air. Now she is in The Crazy Ones with Robin Williams which has had great reviews and I see it lasting far longer than Ringer did. Not to mention, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still one of the most popular shows around, it gains new fans every single day so most people know who she is. She is more of a TV actress.
Sarah has also said that she wanted to take time of to take her of her daughter.