LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — Famous actress Michelle Trachtenberg passed away on Feb. 26. Trachtenberg died at the age of 39 in her New York apartment and the cause and manner of death have been ruled undetermined. However, it is theorized that she may have had complications from a liver transplant shortly before her death. Authorities have confirmed that Trachtenberg’s death is being treated as not suspicious, and her family objected to an autopsy for religious reasons. The medical examiner did not overrule this objection, leaving that office unable to determine how she died.
Trachtenberg was most known for her acting roles as Georgina Sparks in “Gossip Girl” and Dawn Summers in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” During the Academy Awards on March 2, there was a ceremony for members of the film industry who had passed away, but viewers noticed that Trachtenberg was missing. This might have occurred because she was mostly a television actor, but people still wish she had been included.
“We have lost a beautiful soul,” actor James Marsters wrote, according to a Yahoo article by Olivia Jakiel. Marsters acted with Trachtenberg in “Buffy” as the character Spike.
“Michelle was fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny and a very talented person. She died much too young and leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her. My heart goes out to her family,” he said.
Trachtenberg started acting at age three in TV commercials. She was an ambitious child actor playing roles in shows like “Harriet the Spy.” As she grew up, she moved on to one of her more famous roles, Dawn in “Buffy”; this role brought Trachtenberg into the spotlight. In 2004, she starred in the raunchy teen comedy “EuroTrip,” then appeared in several episodes of the premium cable drama “Six Feet Under.” Later she acted in “Gossip Girl” as Georgina, a reoccurring antagonist.
“It’s kind of easy to be evil when you’re saying evil things. It’s definitely a lot more fun than playing the good girl,” Trachtenberg told Seventeen magazine in 2009.
The arrangements for Trachtenberg’s funeral have been kept private by her family. It may be easy to be nosy in celebrities’ personal lives, but they deserve privacy in sensitive topics, too.
Trachtenberg’s death is a tragic passing that affected many. She passed away at a young age, but her acting legacy lives on.
