Gellar was born in New York City. She is the only child of Rosellen Greenfield and Arthur Gellar. Both of her parents were Jewish from Hungary and Russia, but Gellar's family had a Christmas tree during the holidays while she was growing up. In 1984, her parents divorced. She was raised by her mother on New York's Upper East Side. Gellar and her father did not have a good relationship from this time until his death from liver cancer on October 9, 2001. She went to school at New York's Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School and the Professional Children's School. Gellar was a very good student and was a good figure skater. Her best friend was Melissa Joan Hart. Several years later, Hart was the star of the series "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch".