“Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Michelle Trachtenberg died at the age of 39 in her New York apartment on February 26th.
Trachtenberg started her career at just three years-old in TV commercials. Her fame rose when she began doing TV shows and movies, some of her notable works being “Harriet the Spy”, “Ice Princess”, and “Gossip Girl”. From these roles and many more she became a 2000s mainstay in the entertainment industry. “I think sometimes people underestimate or undervalue the impact that actors of primarily children’s or teen media, like Michelle Trachtenberg, have on larger society. When we look back, though, it is those narratives that have often been the most significant in shaping our identities, style, and taste,” says English teacher Mrs. Norowzi on Trachtenberg’s impact on society. “I was really saddened and frankly just shocked to hear about Michelle’s death. She was so young, and it just didn’t seem possible.”
Many are speculating the cause of Trachtenberg’s death being connected to a liver transplant that she was said to have recently undergone. Sources have said that she “may have been experiencing complications” from the procedure. However, this information has not been confirmed as the family declined an autopsy. Since her death was not deemed suspicious by law enforcement, the medical examiners have honored the request of not doing it. Additionally, another source mentioned to People magazine that Trachtenberg had been recently telling her friends she was struggling and “very sick” which many people are taking into consideration when speculating the cause of her death. Despite many fans’ guesses as to what happened, nothing has been confirmed by police nor her family.
Several of Trachtenberg’s fellow co-stars have also shared social media tributes in honor of her, some including Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, and Sarah Michelle Geller. However, Trachtenberg was left out of the 2025 Oscars Memoriam Tribute to fellow actors who had recently passed away. Fans are upset over the choice of the academy to not include Trachtenberg in it as she had been a large part of the entertainment industry since the early 2000s. Senior Hannah Brown shares her thoughts on this saying, “I think it’s disrespectful that she was left out of the Memoriam Tribute at the Oscars. I feel like so many people know her, and she has been a part of some pretty iconic movies and TV shows. Her impact on entertainment should have been recognized.”
The death of Michelle Trachtenberg was a big surprise to many “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fans around the world. Officials determined the cause of her death to be “undetermined”, meaning there is inadequate information to assess how she died.
