Sarah Michelle Gellar was estranged from her father from this time until his death from liver cancer on October 9, 2001. She attended New York's Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School on a scholarship, and the Professional Children's School. Gellar held a straight-A average and became a competent figure skater. Her best friend was Melissa Joan Hart, who later was the star of the series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She also became close friends with Lindsay Sloane, who (in September 2002) would be her bridesmaid at her wedding.