Michelle Trachtenberg, 'Buffy' And 'Gossip Girl' Star, Has Died At 39
The actress had starred in TV and film since childhood and was also known for 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete' and 'Harriet the Spy', making her a major early Nickelodeon figure
Oh, oh this is just tragic. Michelle Trachtenberg, an actress who had been acting since childhood known for playing Harriet the Spy in Nickelodeon Movies’s film adaptation, Dawn Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl has died at the age of 39.
Police sources say Trachtenberg was found by her mother at approximately 8 AM Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-store luxury apartment complex on Central Park South, police found her “unconscious and unresponsive” and was pronounced dead by EMS workers. Her death is not being investigated as suspicious. Trachtenberg’s 800,000 Instagram followers had been troubled in recent months by a series of photos where she appeared gaunt and frail, prompting some speculation on her startling weight loss, including questions as to whether she was on drugs. In January, the actress responded saying she was “happy and healthy”. She also had a recent liver transplant.
Michelle Christine Trachtenberg was born on October 11, 1985 in New York City, and very quickly got into acting as a child, starting in commercials, with her earliest credited role being as Elsie Soaperstein on Nickelodeon’s Clarissa Explains It All in 1991. She then became the first actress to play Lily Benton Montgomery on the ABC soap All My Children. It was as Nona Mecklenberg on The Adventures of Pete and Pete also on Nickelodeon that got her even more recognition, before landing the lead role in 1996’s Harriet the Spy, the first film ever released under Nickelodeon Movies. She then played Penny in Disney’s live action Inspector Gadget alongside Matthew Broderick.
Her Buffy role as Dawn began in season 5, which premiered in fall 2000. The character was revealed to be the human form of a key to the hell dimension and mystically retconned as Buffy’s sister in order for it to be protected. She starred on all three seasons that remained in the series’ run. She was also a major part of the uproar, probably best called a revolt against Buffy creator Joss Whedon in 2021, led by Charisma Carpenter, who confirmed much of the abuse that led to her infamous and awkward Angel exit. Trachtenberg claimed in an Instagram post he was physically abusive during filming and that there was a “rule” in place prohibiting him from being alone in a room with her on set.
Subsequent film roles include 2004’s EuroTrip and the Disney ice skating film Ice Princess, where she played a more reserved teen discovering her passion for figure skating. She would also star in 17 Again with Zac Efron and Matthew Perry. In 2008, she joined Gossip Girl toward the end of its first season as Georgina Sparks, a manipulative and unpredictable troublemaker who threw the other characters’ lives into chaos, and quickly became a fan favorite. Her appearances in the second season of the 2021 HBO Max series would make her one of several original series actors to reprise their role in what was originally called a “reboot”. With her second appearance there airing in 2023, this appears to be her last major television role.
Sources: New York Post, Deadline