Michelle Trachtenberg, who appeared in TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, has died. She was 39.
“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away,” the actress’s publicist Gary Mantoosh told Yahoo Entertainment. “The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”
Trachtenberg was found dead in her New York City apartment on Feb. 26. A spokesperson for the NYPD told Yahoo that police responded to a 911 call at the high-rise building at 8:01 a.m.
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“Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive,” the spokesperson said. “EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased.”
Trachtenberg’s death is not believed to be suspicious, police said. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing.
Michelle Trachtenberg at the 15 Years of Siriano party at Nic’s on Beverly on Nov. 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
ABC News reported that Trachtenberg’s mother discovered her in the apartment. The outlet noted that Trachtenberg had recently undergone a liver transplant and that it is possible there were complications.
Trachtenberg shared an Instagram post as recently as Feb. 18, with a throwback image.
Born in New York City, Trachtenberg made her acting debut on Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete when she was just 3 years old. She went on to star in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy.
Trachtenberg as a child at the Kid’s Choice Awards in 1998. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Trachtenberg broke through as a young actor playing the sister of Michelle Gellar’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 2000 to 2003. In 2004, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series for her role in Truth or Scare. She later landed the recurring role of Georgina Sparks on the CW’s Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007 to 2012. She appeared in the HBO Max reboot in 2022 and 2023.
Her later work also included hosting the Tubi true crime television series Meet, Marry, Murder in 2021.
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