Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, recognized for her roles in ‘Harriet the Spy’ and ‘Gossip Woman,’ lifeless at 39

NEW YORK — Michelle Trachtenberg, an actress finest recognized for her roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Woman,” has died at age 39.

Trachtenberg was discovered lifeless Wednesday in her New York Metropolis condo close to Columbus Circle simply after 8 a.m. native time by her mom, police sources advised ABC Information.

The sources advised ABC Information the actress not too long ago underwent a liver transplant and will have been experiencing problems. Trachtenberg is believed to have died of pure causes and no foul play is suspected.

An post-mortem will likely be carried out by the health worker’s workplace to find out the trigger and method of demise.

Trachtenberg, a New York Metropolis native, made her appearing debut as a toddler star with roles in Nickelodeon tasks, together with the tv collection “The Journey of Pete & Pete” and the movie “Harriet the Spy.”

Her large break got here when she was solid on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as Daybreak, the youthful sister of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s titular character, from 2000 to 2003. The function earned her a Teen Selection Award nomination for selection TV sidekick in 2001.

Trachtenberg not too long ago reminisced on her days co-starring with Gellar on “Buffy.” Simply final month, she shared a photograph of them collectively, captioning it: “Slay all day! At all times liked this twinning picture of us! #buffy #daybreak #sister #womancrushwednesday.”

The actress additionally made a cameo in Fall Out Boy’s music video for the band’s hit tune “This Ain’t a Scene, It is an Arms Race” in 2007.

Trachtenberg starred as Georgina Sparks on “Gossip Woman” from 2008 to 2012. For her function, she was nominated as the selection TV villain on the Teen Selection Award in 2012.

“It is form of simple to be evil once you’re saying evil issues,” mentioned Trachtenberg of her “Gossip Woman” function to Seventeen in 2009. “It is positively much more enjoyable than taking part in the great woman. I really like the response you get. I by no means understood why some actors do not need to play villains or evil characters.”

Trachtenberg has additionally appeared in a variety of tv exhibits, together with “Mercy,” “Weeds,” and earlier in her profession, ‘Reality or Scare.” She had a minor arc in HBO’s “Gossip Woman” reboot in 2022.

In movie, she took on roles together with “EuroTrip,” “17 Once more” and “The Scribbler.”