Michelle Trachtenberg, an actress beloved by millennials for roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Disney’s Ice Princess, Gossip Girl and more, died Wednesday at the age of 39.
Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 8 a.m. at luxury residential tower in midtown where “officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive,” according to an NYPD statement. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. No foul play was suspected and the New York Medical Examiner is investigating the cause of death, police said.
A spokesperson for Trachtenberg’s family corroborated the news, stating, “It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”
Per ABC News’ police sources, Trachtenberg was discovered by her mother at her New York City apartment, who called police. She was said to have recently had a liver transplant.
Born on October 11, 1985, in New York City, Trachtenberg was a lifelong actor who made her television debut in commercials at age 3 before landing a recurring role as Lily Montgomery on the long-running soap opera All My Children. She gained further recognition while starring in Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her role in Discovery children’s series Truth or Scare before landing her breakout feature lead as Harriet M. Welsch in the 1996 Paramount film Harriet the Spy, based on the classic children’s novel.
Trachtenberg joined Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the cult WB fantasy series’ fifth season in 2000 as Dawn Summers, the younger sister to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy. Subsequently, the actress garnered further notice with roles in the raunchy 2004 cult comedy EuroTrip and the Disney sports drama Ice Princess, where she played a bookish teen discovering her passion for figure skating. One of Trachtenberg’s other most memorable roles came in 2008 when she joined Gossip Girl as Georgina Sparks, the manipulative and unpredictable troublemaker who frequently threw the lives of the Upper East Side elite into chaos. Around that same time, she starred opposite Zac Efron and Matthew Perry in Warner Bros’ comedy 17 Again, playing the daughter of Perry’s Mike O’Donnell, who magically gets the chance to relive his teenage years.
Trachtenberg later continued to work steadily in television, with guest appearances on the likes of House, Weeds, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Sleepy Hollow. Additionally, she lent her voice to animated projects, including Robot Chicken, most recently reprising in Max’s Gossip Girl sequel series in 2023.
We’ll share details on any potential service planned for Trachtenberg as they emerge.
Denise Petski contributed to this report.
From Deadline.com