Kristen Noel Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Buffy Summers in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the movie version of the V.C. Andrews book Flowers in the Attic. She 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).