New York: Michelle Trachtenberg, the former child star known for her roles in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy and two iconic millennial TV shows — Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl — has tragically passed away at the age of 39.

Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 8 a.m. at a luxury apartment building in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. Officers found Trachtenberg "unconscious and unresponsive," according to a statement from the NYPD. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. The New York Medical Examiner is investigating the cause of death, but no foul play is suspected, police said.

"The family requests privacy for their loss," said Trachtenberg's representative, Gary Mantoosh, in a statement.

Early career

Trachtenberg began her career at the age of 8, playing Nona Mecklenberg on Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete from 1994 to 1996. She then starred in the title role of the film adaptations of Harriet the Spy and Inspector Gadget, opposite Matthew Broderick. "Michelle comes off as genuine because she really is a genuine kid. Everyone can identify with her," said Debby Beece, president of Nickelodeon Movies in 1996.

In 2000, she joined the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portraying Dawn Summers, the younger sister of Sarah Michelle Gellar's title character, until 2003. In 2021, Trachtenberg expressed her gratitude to Gellar for speaking out against Buffy showrunner Joss Whedon, who faced abuse allegations. Trachtenberg shared on social media, "I am brave enough now as a 35-year-old woman to repost this," referring to "his not appropriate behaviour" she had experienced as a teenage actor.

Trachtenberg received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2001 for hosting Discovery's Truth or Scare. She later appeared in recurring roles on Six Feet Under, Weeds, and Gossip Girl, where she played Georgina Sparks, the scheming nemesis of the show's main characters. For her portrayal of Georgina, she was nominated as a TV villain at the Teen Choice Awards in 2012. "It’s definitely a lot more fun than playing the good girl," she told Seventeen in 2009. "I love the reaction you get. I never understood why some actors don’t want to play villains or evil characters."

She was one of the original Gossip Girl stars to return for guest appearances in the 2021 revival of the show. Trachtenberg also solidified her place in millennial culture with a cameo in Fall Out Boy’s music video for This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race, alongside Seth Green.

Condolences

Hollywood has expressed its sorrow over the loss.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star David Boreanaz shared on Instagram, "So very sad... horrible news." Melissa Gilbert, who starred with Trachtenberg in the 1996 film A Holiday for Love, wrote on Instagram, "My heart aches for your family and all those who loved you so."

Other notable credits in Trachtenberg's career include Ice Princess (2005), where she played a math prodigy and aspiring figure skater, EuroTrip (2004), and 17 Again (2009), in which she starred alongside Zac Efron and Leslie Mann. She also appeared as a murderous stalker and abductor in an episode of Criminal Minds.

In the 2013 film Killing Kennedy, where she played the wife of Lee Harvey Oswald, approximately 80% of Trachtenberg's dialogue was in Russian, a language she learned from her mother growing up.

Trachtenberg's other credits included roles in Mysterious Skin (2004), Black Christmas (2006), and the NBC medical series Mercy (2009–2010), where she starred alongside Taylor Schilling. Most recently, she hosted the true-crime docuseries Meet, Marry, Murder on Tubi.