Michelle Trachtenberg, who had her first big break with Harriet The Spy and forged into TV primetime territory with the CW’s Gossip Girl and the WB’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has passed away at age 39.
ABC News reported from law enforcement sources that the actress was found dead by a family member in her NYC apartment on Wednesday morning. She had reportedly “recently underwent a liver transplant and may have been experiencing complications.” Further, “Trachtenberg is believed to have died of natural causes and no foul play is suspected.”
Upon word of this news, multiple co-stars immediately paid tribute to Trachtenberg with her Harriet co-star, Rosie O’Donnell, telling US Weekly, “I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years.” Likewise, fellow Buffy alum David Boreanz expressed his sympathies in an Instagram story, in which he wrote, “[H]orrible news. R.I.P. and prayers to her and her family.” And fellow Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwick chose the same medium to declare, “So sad to hear of the passing of @michelletrachtenberg. Sending prayers.”
Trachtenberg gathered up a wide array of film and TV credits over a few decades. Those projects further include a guest stint on the Gossip Girl reboot, Sleepy Hollow, Weeds, 17 Again, and EuroTrip, but she remains best known for her portrayal of Dawn Summers, sister to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s title character, on the beloved Buffy series.
At present, her cause of death is unknown pending autopsy results.