Michelle Trachtenberg, the actor known for her roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harriet the Spy, and Gossip Girl, has died at age 39, the New York Post and ABC News confirmed Wednesday.
Trachtenberg’s mother found her dead in her New York City apartment near Columbus Circle on Wednesday morning, ABC News reported. Police sources told the outlet she’d recently undergone a liver transplant and may have been experiencing complications from the operation.
“Criminality is not suspected,” police told HuffPost. “The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing.”
HuffPost has reached out to Trachtenberg’s publicist for more information.
Trachtenberg launched her acting career as a child, appearing in over 100 commercials and eventually landing her first credited role in the 1990s Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. She went on to land the title role in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy, playing opposite Rosie O’Donnell.
“She is simply a great actress,” Debby Beece, then-president of Nickelodeon Movies told the Los Angeles Daily News when the film debuted. “We looked at 350 girls, but there was no question in our minds that Michelle was the right girl for the job.”
In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Trachtenberg recalled her time on the film’s set as a formative experience and said she still received messages on social media from fans inspired by her performance.
“I turned 10 years old on the first day of principal photography of Harriet the Spy. Rosie was my biggest supporter,” she said of her co-star. “There was a lot required of me. I’m extremely grateful for the experience.”
From 2000 to 2003, she starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the title character’s younger sister. In a 2017 Hollywood Reporter interview, Trachtenberg reflected on the show’s impact.
“It showed that women can kick some fucking ass! It showed that women can star in a show and be the title character. … Buffy proved that a woman could steer the ship,” she said.
Her next big role would be on CW’s hit Gossip Girl, in which she played a recurring role as villain Georgina Sparks for all six seasons. In her 2021 ET interview, she said the role was “actually my favorite character that I’ve played because she’s such an evil B-I-T-C-H.”
Trachtenberg’s acting career slowed down in recent years, but she appeared on two episodes of HBO Max’s short-lived Gossip Girl reboot.
