(KTLA) – Friends and costars of Michelle Trachtenberg are remembering the actress with touching tributes after her passing on Wednesday at the age of 39.
Trachtenberg was found unconscious and unresponsive in a Manhattan apartment at 8 a.m. Wednesday, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death is not currently being investigated as suspicious, a police spokesperson said.
Trachtenberg had been acting since she was 3 years old, starting with small commercial and TV parts. She was later cast as Nona F. Mecklenberg in Nickelodeon’s “The Adventures of Pete & Pete,” and 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 roles in ultra-popular TV shows: first Dawn Summers in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and then later Georgina Sparks in “Gossip Girl.”
On Thursday morning, Trachtenberg’s “Buffy” co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar shared an Instagram post featuring several photos of she and Trachtenberg on- and off-set.
“Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live … for you,” Gellar wrote, appearing to paraphrase lines of dialogue from the show.
“Buffy” actress Alyson Hannigan also said she was “deeply saddened” by the news, saying Trachtenberg brought a “loving energy” to the set.
“I’m so sorry your bright light died so young,” added former “Buffy” costar Emma Caulfield in a post to her Instagram Stories. “Our Buffy family lost a little sister today … Rest in peace lovely Mish Mish. You were loved.”
James Marsters, another “Buffy” costar, penned a sweet note about the actress, calling her a “fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny, and a very talented person.”
Blake Lively remembered her “Gossip Girl” costar as a “deeply sensitive and good person.”
“You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed,” Lively wrote, in part, in an Instagram Story. “Everything she did, she did 200%. She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work and she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes.”
“Gossip Girl” actor Ed Westwick also paid tribute to his costar in a post on his Instagram Stories, saying that he was sending prayers.
Trachtenberg (second from right) is pictured with Jessica Szohr, Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Eric Daman and Ed Westwick at an event on Jan. 12, 2010, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
Rosie O’Donnell, Trachtenberg’s “Harriet the Spy” costar, issued a statement to US Weekly about her passing, hinting at recent struggles.
“Heartbreaking,” she told the outlet. “I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”
Christy Carlson Romano, who said she grew up alongside Trachtenberg in Hollywood, hinted that Trachtenberg may have been sick. And fellow Nickelodeon alum Kenan Thompson, in his remembrance of Trachtenberg on Instagram, included a caption urging his followers to “check on” their friends.
One of Trachtenberg’s earliest costars, meanwhile, remembered her as a playful soul who conducted herself in a manner worthy of admiration.
“We grew up learning how to make people laugh together. More importantly, we learned to make each other laugh and pull pranks on everyone,” Danny Tamberelli — who played Little Pete on “Pete & Pete” — said of Trachtenberg on Instagram.
“She was a bright light, firecracker and caring person who spent a lot of time and effort advocating for people who needed a louder voice,” he added. “Michelle was someone to look up to in this business and to the general world at large. She will be missed. All my love, sympathy and compassion to Lana, Irene and the rest of her family and friends.”
An investigation into Trachtenberg’s death is ongoing. The NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, the NYPD has said.
