Michelle Trachtenberg Has Died at 39

Michelle Trachtenberg has died at 39, ABC News, TMZ, and New York Post report. The former Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress was found dead on Wednesday morning in an apartment near New York City’s Columbus Circle. The cause of her death was not immediately revealed, although police sources told New York Post that it is “not being investigated as suspicious.”

Trachtenberg had shut down speculation about her appearance last year, telling fans in January 2024, “I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters.” She last shared a throwback shot of herself on Instagram on February 18.

The actress, who was born in 1985, had been in the spotlight since she was a child, including starring in 1996’s Harriet the Spy. In 2021, she reflected on the milestone to Entertainment Tonight, saying, “I turned 10 years old on the first day of principal photography of Harriet the Spy. Rosie [O’Donnell, my co-star] was my biggest supporter. There was a lot required of me. I’m extremely grateful for the experience.”

Fans’ reactions to the film moved her to that day. “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,’” she said. “All of those, just beautiful things.”

She went on to play characters like Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl. She reprised her role as Sparks in two episodes of the Gossip Girl reboot in 2022. She told Entertainment Tonight that Sparks was “actually my favorite character that I’ve played because she’s such an evil B-I-T-C-H. That was fun.”