Michelle Trachtenberg, Former Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Star, Dies at 39

The actress has died at age 39

Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty

Michelle Trachtenberg has died at age 39.

The NYPD confirmed to PEOPLE that police responded to a 911 call at 1 Columbus Place in New York City around 8:00 a.m. on Feb. 26. “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 investigation remains ongoing. The New York Post was first to report.

Trachtenberg is best known for her roles as Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl and Dawn Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, she got her start in commercials before landing her roles on Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete and on All My Children.

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Her big breakout as the titular character in Harriet the Spy came in 1996. She also had several other prominent roles across film and television over the years, including in EuroTrip, 17 Again and Ice Princess.

Trachtenberg’s last credited role was in 2023, reprising Georgina Sparks on Max’s Gossip Girl reboot.

In the year leading up to her death, Trachtenberg sparked concerns online from fans who were worried about her health due to a drastic change in her appearance. But she clapped back, saying, “Fun fact. This is my face. Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have to hate? Get a calendar.”

“I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance,” she wrote in another Instagram post. “I have never had plastic surgery I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters.”

Trachtenberg’s final Instagram post was seven days ago, where she shared a throwback of herself wanting to “look like naughty #tinkerbell.”