Michelle Trachtenberg, a onetime child actor who starred in “Harriet the Spy” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and later appeared in “Gossip Girl,” has died. She was 39.
Trachtenberg was found dead Wednesday morning in her New York apartment, police told The Times in a statement.
The actor was found dead by her mother around 8 a.m. at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex on Central Park South, police said.
“Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased. Criminality is not suspected,” the statement said. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy.
ABC News reported that she died of natural causes after recently undergoing a liver transplant and may have been experiencing complications.
Trachtenberg got her start acting with guest roles on “Law & Order” and Nickelodeon’s “Clarissa Explains It All” in the early 1990s. She appeared in a few episodes of “All My Children” and rose to prominence on Nickelodeon series “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” before making her feature film debut and getting her big break in the 1996 film “Harriet the Spy,” in which she starred alongside Rosie O’Donnell, Gregory Smith and J. Smith-Cameron.
In the early 2000s, she played Sarah Michelle Gellar’s younger sister Dawn Summers in Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” appearing in 66 episodes of the WB TV series over three years. Her character, a member of the sci-fi universe’s so-called Scooby Gang, was later revealed to be an energy embodiment known as the Key. It is unclear if Trachtenberg was set to appear in the sequel that Gellar confirmed was happening last month.
In 2021, Trachtenberg spoke up about her experience on the hit series in the wake of misconduct allegations made against Whedon, its creator, by Gellar, her co-star Charisma Carpenter and DC Extended Universe star Ray Fisher.
Trachtenberg accused the writer and director of inappropriate, “very bad” behavior, though she did not specify his alleged actions. “This must. Be known,” Trachtenberg wrote on Instagram, alleging that there was a rule on set alleging that Whedon was “not allowed in a room alone” with her.
“What [Whedon] did was very bad. But we win. By surviving!” she wrote. Whedon later denied the allegations.
From left, Kristine Sutherland as Joyce, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy, Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn in an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
(The WB / Richard Cartwirght / TLP )
Trachtenberg’s other credits include stints on the TV series “Mercy” and “Weeds” and a prominent role as bad-girl socialite Georgina Sparks on the CW’s melodrama “Gossip Girl,” which also starred Penn Badgley, Blake Lively and Leighton Meester. Trachtenberg reprised the role in HBO’s 2021 reboot and the part is listed on IMDb as her final acting credit.
This story is developing.
