Michelle Trachtenberg, the actress best known for appearing in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harriet the Spy, died at 39. Authorities told ABC News and the New York Post that no foul play was suspected and confirmed her death. Although there hasn’t yet been an official cause of death announced, it has been reported that she recently had a liver transplant. She was found by her mother in an apartment in New York, according to reports.
Trachtenberg started her acting career at the age of three, working in commercials before landing jobs on The Adventures of Pete & Pete and All My Children. She got universally acclaimed in 1996 when she played Harriet the Spy with Rosie O’Donnell. Looking back in 2021, she characterized the grueling aspect of the character but stated how appreciative she was for the experience. O’Donnell testified to her grief after the death of Trachtenberg, stating, “She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”
Her work then resumed in films Inspector Gadget, EuroTrip, and Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, a production that she was particularly fond of for its departure from her earlier family-oriented performances. In 2000, she played Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, staying on until the end of the series in 2003.
Trachtenberg subsequently appeared in Ice Princess, Six Feet Under, House, and the remake of Black Christmas before joining the cast of Gossip Girl as Georgina Sparks, a role she reprised in the 2022 revival. Her Gossip Girl co-star Ed Westwick paid tribute to her death, saying the news was “so sad.
Her most recent film appearance was in The Scribbler (2014), although she had another drama, Spyral, pending release. Her ex-boyfriend, actor Shawn Ashmore, said that her death was an “incredible loss.”
