Michelle Trachtenberg, “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star, dies at 39

Michelle Trachtenberg, the actress known for starring as wonderful chaos agent Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl and Buffy’s little sister Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died. She was 39.

"It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away," Trachtenberg's representative Gary Mantoosh said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. "The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”

Authorities responded to a call about an aided individual at 8 a.m. this morning, where they found Trachtenberg “unconscious and unresponsive," the New York Police Department told EW. Emergency services later pronounced her dead at the scene. 

While authorities explained that the investigation “remains ongoing,” police noted that “criminality is not suspected” and that a medical examiner will confirm her cause of death. Sources told ABC News that Trachtenberg had recently undergone a liver transplant and “may have been experiencing complications” as a result.

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A native New Yorker, Trachtenberg was only three years old when she made her television debut in a Wisk detergent commercial. She continued to act throughout her childhood, earning her first-ever television credit as Nona F. Mecklenberg on the Nickelodeon sitcom The Adventures of Pete & Pete and later making the leap to the silver screen in the 1996 film, Harriet the Spy. An adaptation of Louise Fitzhugh's 1964 children's book of the same name, the film followed its titular sixth-grade detective (Trachtenberg) as she detailed her innermost thoughts on her classmates and family into her secret spy notebook.

The following year, Trachtenberg teamed up with Matthew Broderick and an adorable beagle for the live-action film adaptation of Inspector Gadget. Alongside her growing list of film credits, Trachtenberg was also enjoying steady success on the small screen, fronting the sci-fi series Meego and appearing on episodes of Blue’s Clues, Reading Rainbow, and Figure It Out.

However, Trachtenberg is perhaps best known for starring as Buffy's little sister Dawn, joining the cast of the hit teen drama during its fifth season in 2000. She remained a primary cast member on the supernatural series alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan until it came to a close at the end of its seventh season in 2003.

The actress also had a memorable turn as Georgina Sparks — a wealthy socialite who wasn’t afraid to rock the boat — on the original Gossip Girl series, which aired from 2007 until 2012. She later reprised her role on the show's 2022 Max reboot.

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Gossip Girl, Harriet the Spy, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are only a few of Trachtenberg’s TV shows and films that have gone on to become cultural touchstones for younger generations. Her other film credits include the 2004 teen sex comedy romp Eurotrip, the 2005 Walt Disney ice skating drama Ice Princess, and 2009’s 17 Again opposite Zac Efron and the late Matthew Perry. She also helmed NBC’s 2009 medical drama Mercy and made spotlight appearances on episodes of Sleepy Hollow, NCIS: Los Angeles, Weeds, and Criminal Minds.

She also starred in several music videos, including Fall Out Boy’s 2007 video for their single “This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race.”

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