Michelle Trachtenberg​'s "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar, others react to her death

CBS News

27-02-2025

Former cast members of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Gossip Girl" and more are remembering their co-star Michelle Trachtenberg after the news of her death on Wednesday.
Trachtenberg, 39, was found unresponsive at her home in Manhattan on Wednesday morning, the New York City Police Department said. Criminality is not suspected, they said.
Trachtenberg began her acting career as a child. At just 11 years old, she landed her breakout role as Harriet in the 1996 movie "Harriet the Spy."
She had roles in dozens of TV series and movies, most notably "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," as Buffy's sister, Dawn, and "Gossip Girl," as Georgina Sparks.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred as Buffy, mourned Trachtenberg's death with a post on Instagram, referencing a quote her character said to Trachtenberg's in the show's season 5 finale.
"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," she wrote.
Other "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" co-stars also paid tribute to Trachtenberg.
Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg in the series, wrote that she was "deeply saddened" by Trachtenberg's death.
"She brought a loving energy to the set of Buffy. My thoughts are with Michelle's family and friends," she wrote.
"My heart is heavy today," wrote James Marsters, who starred as Spike in "Buffy." "We have lost a beautiful soul. 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."
Trachtenberg's co-stars in "Gossip Girl" shared similar sentiments.
Blake Lively, who played Serena van der Woodsen in the series, wrote in an Instagram story that Trachtenberg "was electricity."
"You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200%," she said. "The world lost a deeply sensitive and good person in Michelle. May her work and her huge heart be remembered by those who were lucky enough to experience her fire."
Chase Crawford, a fellow "Gossip Girl" alum, called Trachtenberg "a force of nature."
"Michelle was one of a kind. I remember her coming on set for the first time and just absolutely owning it. She was a force of nature and just so so unapologetically funny and magnetic.. remembering those years with a big smile," he wrote.
Other actors who worked with Trachtenberg early on in her career also shared reactions.
Rosie O'Donnell, who starred alongside Trachtenberg in "Harriet the Spy," told CBS News that Trachtenberg's death was "heartbreaking."
"I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped," she said. O'Donnell didn't say what those struggles were.
Melissa Joan Hart shared a clip of her and Trachtenberg in the 90s sitcom "Clarissa Explains It All" and wrote that the young star was "so talented and so sweet."
"I think this was about 1992 and the episode was an idea I had about babysitting a total nightmare. But Michelle was nothing like her character and even this young, we got along wonderfully," she said.