Michelle Trachtenberg, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Buffy’ actress, dead at 39: reports

(NEXSTAR) – Actress Michelle Trachtenberg has died, police sources confirmed to multiple entertainment and news publications on Wednesday.

Trachtenberg was reportedly found in a New York apartment. The death is not currently being investigated as suspicious, according to the New York Post, which first reported the news.

An official cause and manner of death will be determined following an autopsy by the medical examiner.

She was 39 years old.

Trachtenberg started acting as a child with small commercial and TV parts until she was cast as Nona F. Mecklenberg in Nickelodeon’s “The Adventures of Pete & Pete.” Her first major movie role came when she played the title character in “Harriet the Spy” in 1996.

Her fame grew throughout the 2000s with two major parts in ultra-popular TV shows: first Dawn Summers in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and then later Georgina Sparks in “Gossip Girl.”

FILE – Michelle Trachtenberg arrives at the Women in Film 2015 Crystal And Lucy Awards at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)Michelle Trachtenberg filming on location for “Gossip Girl” on October 22, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images)Actress Michelle Trachtenberg and actress Sarah Michelle Gellar arrive at the “Buffy Reunion” presented by the 25th Annual William S. Paley Television Festival on March 20, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)Michelle Trachtenberg during The 11th Annual Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards at UCLA Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, California, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Her most recent listed acting credit was a return to her “Gossip Girl” character with a guest appearance in the show’s HBO remake in 2022.

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