Child Star Michelle Trachtenberg Dead at 39: 'Gossip Girl' and 'Buffy' Actress Dies Suddenly
2025-02-26 19:24:50.804
by Amir Izad in Entertainment
Michelle Trachtenberg, the actress who rose to fame as a precocious child star in “Harriet the Spy” and went on to have memorable roles on TV shows including “Gossip Girl,” has died, according to the New York City police. She was 39. Police responded to a 911 call on Wednesday just after 8 a.m. local time and found a woman unconscious and unresponsive inside a Manhattan apartment. She was later identified as Trachtenberg, according to an NYPD spokesperson. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased. “Criminality is not suspected,” the NYPD said in a statement, adding that the investigation remains ongoing. Trachtenberg’s official cause of death will come from the Medical Examiner’s office. Earlier on Wednesday, an NYPD source told CNN that Trachtenberg reportedly had a recent medical issue and that her death appeared to be related to natural causes and not suspicious. CNN has reached out to representatives for Trachtenberg for comment. With her cheeky demeanor and sharp comedic timing, Trachtenberg fit in naturally with the over-the-top humor that dominated Nickelodeon in the ’90s. She first gained attention with a role on “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” and went on to star in Nickelodeon’s first feature film, 1996’s “Harriet the Spy.” In the latter, she shared the screen with Rosie O’Donnell, young Gregory Smith and J. Smith-Cameron, who would go on to star in “Succession” and played her mother in the project. Looking back at the experience, which took place just as she turned 10 years old, Trachtenberg called O’Donnell her “biggest supporter” on the set. “There was a lot required of me. I’m extremely grateful for the experience,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2001. “When I do look at social media, which is challenging, [I see] them coming in with, ‘You inspired my life. You made me become a writer,’ …All of those, just beautiful things.” In 2000, she landed the role of Dawn Summers on The WB hit series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” playing Buffy’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) younger sister. At the time, fans were vocal about their mixed feelings about the character, who debuted in the show’s fifth season. Years later, Trachtenberg joked about the backlash telling Entertainment Weekly, “Most of the haters don’t have the guts to say things in person.” “I rarely get the ‘Oh she ruined the show.’ I do get a lot of ‘Oh she was so whiny!’ Hi, were you a teenager?” she said. Trachtenberg remained with the series until its conclusion in 2003. As Trachtenberg grew up off screen and straddled that complicated time between childhood and your teen years, her roles followed suit. In 2004, she starred in the raunchy teen comedy “Eurotrip,” then appeared in several episodes of premium cable drama “Six Feet Under.” The next year, she starred in a Disney movie, playing an aspiring ice skater in “Ice Princess” alongside Kim Cattrall. Then came a moment of reinvention, thanks to the CW’s “Gossip Girl,” on which she played the deliciously villainous Georgina Sparks, a recurring foe who cooked up the drama that fed the show’s popularity. Trachtenberg seemingly relished in the fun. “It’s kind of easy to be evil when you’re saying evil things. It’s definitely a lot more fun than playing the good girl,” she told Seventeen magazine in 2009. “I love the reaction you get. I never understood why some actors don’t want to play villains or evil characters.” She most recently appeared in two episodes of Max’s “Gossip Girl” revival. It is unclear what she was working on at the time of her death, but Trachtenberg was active on social media. In the past week, she posted photos from her previous red carpets and reflected on the fashion. “A memory, a magical night in #newyork. I remember feeling like Cinderella,” she wrote on one post roughly a week ago. “Wishing everyone an ethereal weekend.” This story is developing and will be updated with additional information.
