Michelle Trachtenberg death: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl and Ice Princess star dies at 39

Gossip Girl star Michelle Trachtenberg has died, according to reports. She was 39.

The New York-born actor, who also starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Buffy’s younger sister Dawn and led the 2005 Disney movie Ice Princess, was found dead in her New York City apartment by her mother.

The New York Post reports that her police responded to a 911 call just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex on Central Park South.

The NYPD confirmed they found Trachtenberg “unconscious and unresponsive” and she was pronounced dead by emergency medical workers.

Her cause of death has not yet been determined, but police are not investigating it as suspicious.

According to the Post, she recently underwent a liver transplant.

Trachtenberg was born in New York City on October 11, 1985. She made her first television appearance at the age of just three, appearing in a commercial for Wisk detergent. She would go on to star in over 100 commercials as a child actor.

At the age of six, Trachtenberg landed her first appearance in a 1991 episode of Law & Order. At the age of nine, she won her first credited role as Nona Mecklenberg on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete, a part she would play from 1994 until 1996.

That year, she began her film career with the title role in Harriet the Spy. In 2000 she secured another break-out role as Dawn Summers in the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She remained on the show until it ended in 2003.

Trachtenberg had first met Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar when they worked together on soap opera All My Children. She told the BBC that she had dreamed of being cast in the show before landing the role of Buffy’s younger sister. “I kept in touch with Sarah through the years, and because Buffy had become my real favourite show, I had always tried to think of ways for me to guest star on the show, and I heard about the call one day,” she said. “Sarah was always very supportive.”

She played the lead role in Disney’s 2005 comedy sports drama film Ice Princess as Casey Carlyle, a science whiz torn between a future in academia and her dream of becoming a professional figure skater.

Perhaps Trachtenberg’s most well-known role was as antagonist Georgina Sparks on the CW TV show Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007 to 2012. She recently returned to the part for appearances in two episodes of Max’s Gossip Girl revival.

In 2021, Trachtenberg made allegations about Buffy creator and director Joss Whedon, claiming he was physically abusive during filming and that there was a “rule” in place prohibiting him from being alone in a room with her on set.

In an Instagram post, Trachtenberg wrote: “The last. Comment I will make on this. Was. There was a rule. Saying. He’s not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again.”

Concerns about the actor’s health and wellbeing had been raised by fans previously, after a series of photos on her Instagram page prompted some to speculate on her apparent weight-loss and somewhat gaunt appearance.

However, last January she responded to fan concerns saying she was “happy and healthy” and had never had plastic surgery.

“Explain to me how I look sick,” she wrote. “Did you lose a calendar and not realize I’m not 14. I’m 38. How sad for you to leave such a comment.”

Trachtenberg’s former Gossip Girl co-star Ed Westwick paid tribute to her on Instagram, writing: “So sad to hear of the passing of [Michelle Trachtenberg]. Sending prayers.”

Rosie O’Donnell, who starred alongside Trachtenberg in Harriet the Spy, said in a statement: “I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”