{"id":104286,"date":"2025-02-28T09:04:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cutiething.com\/?p=25855"},"modified":"2025-02-28T09:05:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:05:00","slug":"michelle-trachtenberg-dead-at-39-former-gossip-girl-harriet-the-spy-star-recently-underwent-liver-transplant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/michelle-trachtenberg-dead-at-39-former-gossip-girl-harriet-the-spy-star-recently-underwent-liver-transplant\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Trachtenberg dead at 39 \u2014 former \u2018Gossip Girl,\u2019 \u2018Harriet the Spy\u2019 star recently underwent liver transplant"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Michelle Trachtenberg, the former child star known for a wide range of TV and film roles including in \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d and \u201cGossip Girl,\u201d has died at the age of 39, sources told The Post.\n</p><p>Trachtenberg was found by her mother around 8 a.m. Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex in Manhattan\u2019s Central Park South neighborhood, the sources said.\n</p><p>The actress underwent a liver transplant within the last year, but her body may have rejected the organ, according to sources, who said she died of natural causes.\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large>\n<figure id='\"attachment_25856\"' aria-describedby='\"caption-attachment-25856\"' style='\"width:' class='\"wp-caption' aligncenter><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"size-full' wp-image-25856 src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/actress-michelle-trachtenberg-at.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"Trachtenberg' had posted a series of troubling photos in which she appeared gaunt and frail.afp via getty images width='\"1024\"' height='\"698\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption id='\"caption-attachment-25856\"' class='\"wp-caption-text\"'>Trachtenberg had posted a series of troubling photos, in which she appeared gaunt and frail.AFP via Getty Images\n\n<p>The NYPD confirmed Trachtenberg was found \u201cunconscious and unresponsive\u201d by police and pronounced dead by EMS workers. They responded to the building after a 911 call reporting a woman experiencing cardiac arrest.\n</p><p>Her death is not deemed suspicious and the city medical examiner will determine the cause, cops said.\n<aside class='\"single__inline-module' aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag>\n<div class='\"inline-module' inline-module--more inline-module--trending inline-module--more--thirds data-source-unit='\"Explore' more trending>\n<div class='\"inline-module__inner\"'>\n<div class='\"inline-module__content\"'>\n<div class='\"layout' layout--thirds>\n<div class='\"layout__grid' layout__grid--gap-10>\n<div class='\"layout__item\"'>\n<div class='\"layout__inner' b-top b-top-none-md p-top p-top-none-md b-left-md p-left-md>\n<div class='\"story' story--i-flex story--i-flex-none-md>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss,\u201d Trachtenberg\u2019s representative, Gary Mantoosh, said in a statement.\n</p><p>Trachtenberg had posted a series of troubling photos in recent months to Instagram, in which she appeared gaunt and frail, prompting some fans to comment about her startling weight loss or ask if she was on drugs.\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large><figcaption>\n<figure id='\"attachment_25857\"' aria-describedby='\"caption-attachment-25857\"' style='\"width:' class='\"wp-caption' aligncenter><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"size-full' wp-image-25857 src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/022625-one-columbus-pl-nyc-99293.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/022625-one-columbus-pl-nyc-99293.jpg\"' width='\"1024\"' height='\"683\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption id='\"caption-attachment-25857\"' class='\"wp-caption-text\"'>https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/022625-one-columbus-pl-nyc-99293.jpg\n\n<p>Last January, Trachtenberg responded to fan concerns, saying she was \u201chappy and healthy\u201d and had never had plastic surgery.\n</p><p>That same month,\u00a0Trachtenberg posted a selfie, writing \u201cSnake it to make it\u201d in the caption.\n</p><p>Eagle-eyed fans noticed a slight jaundice tint in her eyes, raising worry about the actress\u2019 health.\u00a0Yellow eyes can be a symptom of liver problems.\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized>\n<div class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__wrapper\"'>\n<figure id='\"attachment_25858\"' aria-describedby='\"caption-attachment-25858\"' style='\"width:' class='\"wp-caption' aligncenter><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"size-full' wp-image-25858 src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/michelle-trachtenbergs-body-remo.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"Funeral' home workers removed trachtenberg body from her midtown apartment building on wednesday afternoon.peter gerber width='\"1024\"' height='\"768\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption id='\"caption-attachment-25858\"' class='\"wp-caption-text\"'>Funeral home workers removed Trachtenberg\u2019s body from her Midtown apartment building on Wednesday afternoon.Peter Gerber\n\n\n<p style='\"text-align:' left>Born in New York City on Oct. 11, 1985\u00a0and raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn,\u00a0Trachtenberg\u2019s first credited role came at the age of 9 on the classic 1990s Nickelodeon series \u201cThe Adventures of Pete and Pete,\u201d in which she portrayed quirky gal-pal Nona F. Mecklenberg.\n</p><p style='\"text-align:' left>She starred in various kid-oriented movies and shows, making her film debut in 1996\u2019s \u201cHarriet the Spy,\u201d in which she played the title character.\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large>\n<div class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__wrapper\"'>\n<p style='\"text-align:' left>As an adult, she pivoted to more mature acting fare, including a three-year stint playing Dawn Summers, the sister of \u201cBuffy\u2019s\u201d eponymous vampire-slaying protagonist, as well as the manipulative, calculating antagonist Georgina Sparks on \u201cGossip Girl,\u201d which ran for six seasons.\n</p><p style='\"text-align:' left>In 2021, Trachtenberg made bombshell allegations against \u201cBuffy\u201d creator and \u201cAvengers\u201d director Joss Whedon, then 55, claiming he was physically abusive during filming and that there was a \u201crule\u201d in place prohibiting him from being alone in a room with her on set, she wrote in a cryptic Instagram post at the time.\n</p><p><a title='\"Open' a slideshow of all article images. href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/26%5C/entertainment%5C/michelle-trachtenberg-dead-at-39-former-gossip-girl-harriet-the-spy-star-shared-troubling-posts%5C/#%5C%22" aria-controls='\"nyp-slideshow-modal\"' data-slideshow-modal='\"trigger\"' aria-label='\"Open' data-slideshow-slide-number='\"4\"' data-slideshow-slides-total='\"10\"' target='\"_blank\"' rel='\"noopener\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-35087727\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/selfie-actress-michelle-trachtenberg-jan-99293421.jpgw819%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"472\"' height='\"590\"' title='\"\"'><span class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__icon\"' aria-hidden='\"true\"'><span class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__icon-text\"'><span data-slideshow-modal='\"count\"'>10<figcaption>The award-winning actress underwent a recent liver transplant.<span class='\"credit\"'>Michelle Trachtenberg\/Instagram\n<p>Whedon later denied the allegations in an interview with New York Magazine.\n</p><p>On her birthday last Oct. 11, Trachtenberg posted a glamor shot on her Instagram with the caption \u201c39 and I\u2019m feeling fiiiiiine,\u201d which garnered more than 32,000 likes.\n</p><h2 class='\"wp-block-heading\"'>\u2018Harriet the Spy,\u2019 \u2018Gossip Girl\u2019 actress Michelle Trachtenberg dead at 39\n</h2><p>Upon news of her death, former co-stars flooded social media with an outpouring of support for the young actress, including Rosie O\u2019Donnell, who vaguely hinted Trachtenberg had \u201cstruggled\u201d in recent years.\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large>\n<figure id='\"attachment_25859\"' aria-describedby='\"caption-attachment-25859\"' style='\"width:' class='\"wp-caption' aligncenter><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"size-full' wp-image-25859 src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/harriet-spy-michelle-trachtenber.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"Her' breakout role the spy premiered in everett collection width='\"1024\"' height='\"685\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption id='\"caption-attachment-25859\"' class='\"wp-caption-text\"'>Her breakout role, \u201cHarriet the Spy,\u201d premiered in 1996.\u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\n\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large><figcaption>\n<p style='\"text-align:' left>Ed Westwick \u2013\u2013 who played Chuck Bass in \u201cGossip Girl\u201d \u2013\u2013 mourned Trachtenberg\u2019s death by sharing a photo of her as her Georgina Sparks character.\n</p><p style='\"text-align:' left>\u201cSo sad to hear of the passing of @michelletrachtenberg. Sending prayers,\u201d he wrote on his Instagram Story.\n</p><p style='\"text-align:' left>Actress Kim Cattrall shared a sweet photo of the two acting in the 2005 Disney film \u201cIce Princess\u201d and wrote, \u201cRest in peace sweet Michelle,\u201d accompanied by a broken heart emoji.\n\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large>\n<div class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__wrapper\"'><a title='\"Open' a slideshow of all article images. href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/26%5C/entertainment%5C/michelle-trachtenberg-dead-at-39-former-gossip-girl-harriet-the-spy-star-shared-troubling-posts%5C/#%5C%22" aria-controls='\"nyp-slideshow-modal\"' data-slideshow-modal='\"trigger\"' aria-label='\"Open' data-slideshow-slide-number='\"7\"' data-slideshow-slides-total='\"10\"' target='\"_blank\"' rel='\"noopener\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-35087038\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/gossip-girl-michelle-trachtenberg-desperately-99292715.jpgw683%5C%22" alt='\"Michelle' trachtenberg as her character in gossip girl season episode with a hand on forehead width='\"394\"' height='\"590\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption>Trachtenberg played Georgina on \u201cGossip Girl.\u201d<span class='\"credit\"'>\u00a9CW Network\/Courtesy Everett Col\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large>\n<div class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__wrapper\"'><a title='\"Open' a slideshow of all article images. href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/26%5C/entertainment%5C/michelle-trachtenberg-dead-at-39-former-gossip-girl-harriet-the-spy-star-shared-troubling-posts%5C/#%5C%22" aria-controls='\"nyp-slideshow-modal\"' data-slideshow-modal='\"trigger\"' aria-label='\"Open' data-slideshow-slide-number='\"8\"' data-slideshow-slides-total='\"10\"' target='\"_blank\"' rel='\"noopener\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-35087740\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/www-instagram-com-jaymcohen-p-99293008.jpgw945%5C%22" alt='\"Michelle' trachtenberg and jay cohen taking a selfie width='\"544\"' height='\"590\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption>Trachtenberg was previously in a relationship with talent agent Jay Cohen.<span class='\"credit\"'>Instagram\/jaymcohen\n<p>Melissa Gilbert also mourned the actress by posting a photo of them in the 1996 movie, \u201cHoliday for Love.\u201d\n</p><p>\u201cOh Michy\u2026and we lived so close to one another\u2026..my heart aches for your family and all those who loved you so\u2026\u201d Gilbert wrote via Instagram.\n</p><p>\u201cHeartbreaking. I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped,\u201d O\u2019Donnell, who starred with Trachtenberg in \u201cHarriet the Spy,\u201d told Us Weekly.\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large>\n<div class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__wrapper\"'><a title='\"Open' a slideshow of all article images. href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/26%5C/entertainment%5C/michelle-trachtenberg-dead-at-39-former-gossip-girl-harriet-the-spy-star-shared-troubling-posts%5C/#%5C%22" aria-controls='\"nyp-slideshow-modal\"' data-slideshow-modal='\"trigger\"' aria-label='\"Open' data-slideshow-slide-number='\"9\"' data-slideshow-slides-total='\"10\"' target='\"_blank\"' rel='\"noopener\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-35087139\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/file-michelle-trachtenberg-ashlee-simpson-99292892.jpgw1024%5C%22" alt='\"Michelle' trachtenberg and ashlee simpson posing at the years of siriano party in los angeles california on november width='\"826\"' height='\"590\"' title='\"\"'>\n<figure id='\"attachment_25859\"' aria-describedby='\"caption-attachment-25859\"' style='\"width:' class='\"wp-caption' aligncenter><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"size-full' wp-image-25859 src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/harriet-spy-michelle-trachtenber.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"Her' breakout role the spy premiered in everett collection width='\"1024\"' height='\"685\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption id='\"caption-attachment-25859\"' class='\"wp-caption-text\"'>Her breakout role, \u201cHarriet the Spy,\u201d premiered in 1996.\u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection\n<figcaption>The actress\u2019s death is not being treated as suspicious.<span class='\"credit\"'>WWD via Getty Images\n<figure class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image' wp-block-image aligncenter size-large>\n<div class='\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image__wrapper\"'><a title='\"Open' a slideshow of all article images. href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/26%5C/entertainment%5C/michelle-trachtenberg-dead-at-39-former-gossip-girl-harriet-the-spy-star-shared-troubling-posts%5C/#%5C%22" aria-controls='\"nyp-slideshow-modal\"' data-slideshow-modal='\"trigger\"' aria-label='\"Open' data-slideshow-slide-number='\"10\"' data-slideshow-slides-total='\"10\"' data-wp-editing='\"1\"' target='\"_blank\"' rel='\"noopener\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-35087176\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/eurotrip-travis-wester-scott-mechlowicz-99292837.jpgw1024%5C%22" alt='\"Travis' wester scott mechlowicz michelle trachtenberg and jacob pitts in a scene from the movie eurotrip standing terminal. width='\"903\"' height='\"590\"' title='\"\"'><figcaption>Michelle Trachtenberg appeared alongside Scott Mechlowicz in \u201cEuroTrip.\u201d<span class='\"credit\"'>\u00a9DreamWorks\/Courtesy Everett Collection\n<p>\u201cSo very sad \u2026horrible news,\u201d Trachtenberg\u2019s \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d co-star David Boreanaz, 55, wrote on his Instagram story. \u201cRIP and prayers to her and her family,\u201d he added.\n</p><p>Trachtenberg left behind her longtime boyfriend, talent agent and producer Jay Cohen, who according to an online bio is head of film finance and distribution at Gersh \u2014 one of the world\u2019s largest talent and literary agencies \u2014 which signed Trachtenberg in 2014.\n</p><p>The pair were first linked in 2020, according to People. Cohen has two adult daughters, Rachel and Lili.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><p>Michelle Trachtenberg, the former child star known for a wide range of TV and film roles including in \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d and \u201cGossip Girl,\u201d has died at the age of 39, sources told The Post. Trachtenberg was found by her mother around 8 a.m. Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex &hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104297,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104286\/revisions\/104297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p></span></figcaption></a></div></figure></span></figcaption></figcaption></figure></a></div></figure></p></span></figcaption></a></div></figure></span></figcaption></a></div></figure></p></figcaption></figure></figcaption></figure></figure></p></span></figcaption></span></span></span></a></p></div></figure></p></figcaption></figure></div></figure></p></figcaption></figure></figcaption></figure></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></aside></p></figcaption></figure></figure></p>