Actress Michelle Trachtenberg has died at the age of 39. She was found by her mother in her New York City apartment. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but sources at ABC News say that Trachtenberg recently underwent a liver transplant and may have been suffering from complications. Police are not investigating her death as suspicious.
Trachtenberg started acting in commercials at the age of 3 before getting her first TV role on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. At 10 years old, she landed the lead role in the movie Harriet the Spy, adapted from a popular book by Louise Fitzhugh. In that movie, she starred opposite Rosie O’Donnell, so she was already working on a big stage at a very young age.
Trachtenberg really broke out when she joined the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the show's fifth season, playing the role of Buffy's little sister Dawn. She would stay with the show through to its seventh and final season in 2003. After that, she found success playing scheming Manhattan socialite Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007 to 2012.
I first saw Trachtenberg's work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I was a huge fan of when I was growing up. She was funny, graceful and endearing in the role of Dawn, which was impressive since she came into the core cast years after it had already been established, quickly carving out a place for herself.
Obviously it's heartbreaking to hear that Trachtenberg has passed, particularly since she was so young. Our best wishes go out to her family and friends. She's left behind a body of work that's remembered fondly by many people who grew up with it, and which is still good enough to attract new fans.
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