Michelle Trachtenberg Career Photos: Gossip Girl, Ice Princess, Buffy
Michelle Trachtenberg starred in 'Harriet the Spy' at just 10 years old, and went on to appear in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' 'Gossip Girl,' 'Ice Princess' and 'Eurotrip.'
Trachtenberg started acting at just 3 years old before joining Nickelodeon's 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete.'
More from Variety
Michelle Trachtenberg, 'Gossip Girl' and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Actor, Dies at 39
Rob Lowe Cast as JFK in 'Killing Kennedy'
Haley Joel Osment Sets Up Slate of Projects (EXCLUSIVE)
She joined 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' as Dawn Summers in its fifth season as Sarah Michelle Geller's younger sister, and was on the show until it ended in season seven.
On 'Gossip Girl,' she played mean girl Georgina Sparks who often sparred with Blake Lively's Serena van der Woodsen and Leighton Meester's Blair Waldorf.
She went on to appear in popular films including 'Ice Princess' and 'Eurotrip,' then returned for the 'Gossip Girl' reboot in 2022, which proved to be her final role.
She died Wednesday at the age of 39.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Grammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win?
What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025
Michelle Trachtenberg's first starring role was in 'Harriet the Spy,' where she played the young sleuth from the popular novel. (1996)
Michelle Trachtenberg appeared in two seasons of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' as Buffy's younger sister.
Penn Badgley and Michelle Trachtenberg in 'Gossip Girl,' in which she played mean girl Georgina Sparks. (2008)
Michelle Trachtenberg appeared in two episodes of the series 'Love Bites.' (2011)
Michelle Trachtenberg appeared on five episodes of the Showtime series 'Weeds.' (2011)
Michelle Trachtenberg, left, Scott Mechlowicz and Jacob Pitts appeared in the raunchy comedy movie 'Eurotrip.' (2004)
Jay Hayden and Michelle Trachtenberg in a season 8 episode of 'Criminal Minds' (2013)
Michelle Trachtenberg was Ashley in the rom-com 'Take Me Home Tonight.' (2011)
Michelle Trachtenberg played Maggie in the rom-com '17 Again.' (2009)
Michelle Trachtenberg appeared opposite Brady Corbet and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Gregg Araki's 'Mysterious Skin.' (2004)
Michelle Trachtenberg was an ice skating star in 'Ice Princess.' (2005)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
36 minutes ago
- Axios
New movies and shows this week on Hulu, Netflix and Apple TV+
Here's what's new on Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV+, BET+ and Prime Video. What we're watching: Documentaries about millennial media star Alex Cooper and the Astroworld Festival tragedy and a new thriller starring Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney. " Call Her Alex" available now on Hulu State of play: This two-part doc chronicles the life and career of "Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper. What she's saying: "It's a behind-the-scenes look at the moments that shaped me — the raw, the messy, the personal stuff I've never felt comfortable sharing until now," Cooper said in a statement. " Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy" available now on Netflix Zoom in: Survivors, paramedics and security personnel recount the 2021 Astroworld Festival crowd crush that left 10 dead. Zoom out: This episode kicks off Netflix's " Trainwreck" anthology — a series of documentaries about some of the biggest disasters that made headlines. " Echo Valley" available Friday on Apple TV+ The intrigue: Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney star in this psychological thriller about a woman who goes to great lengths to help her troubled daughter. More new titles " Divorced Sistas" on BET+ This spinoff of "Sistas" about five women in different stages of their romantic lives features a star-studded cast, including LeToya Luckett, DeVon Franklin and RonReaco Lee. Available now " FUBAR" Season 2 on Netflix Carrie-Anne Moss ("The Matrix") guest stars as Greta, the ex-lover and adversary of Luke Brunner (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger). Available now " Deep Cover" on Prime Video " The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish" Season 2 on Netflix Characters from the original Nickelodeon series, including Mr. Crocker, Vicky and Poof, return in the second season of the cartoon's revival. Available now " Underdogs" on Hulu and Disney+ Ryan Reynolds narrates this the five-part series that shows animals on the lower rungs of the food chain, including frogs, honey badgers, shrimp, turkeys and caterpillars. Available Monday " Not a Box" on Apple TV+ This new preschool series about an imaginative rabbit named Riley is based on the picture book of the same name by New York Times bestselling author Antoinette Portis. Available Friday " ROMCON: Who the F**K is Jason Porter?" on Prime Video This true-crime doc follows a Toronto woman who investigates her boyfriend after discovering he is a convicted criminal and romance scammer. Available Friday " Atsuko Okatsuka: Father" on Hulu
Forbes
43 minutes ago
- Forbes
Netflix's Best New Action Movie Is Certified Fresh On Rotten Tomatoes
Daniella Pineda, Gerard Butler and Yoson An star in the 2023 action thriller 'Plane.' During the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term 'B-movie' referred to the second half of a double feature. Essentially, these were cheaply made flicks that relied on stock sets, contract actors and genre formulas (westerns, crime thrillers, monster movies, etc.), and they were perceived to be inferior to the 'A-movies' that featured big stars and prestige. But over time, the B-movie status evolved from a technical label to a tonal one, and these films became a playground for genre experimentation. And over time, the genre has evolved into something beautiful and modern. This is all to say you shouldn't skip on watching Plane, the latest and greatest action movie to grace Netflix—especially since the film surprised everyone, including critics, and scored nearly 80% over on Rotten Tomatoes from 173 reviews. When Plane was first announced, it felt as though everyone on the internet collectively rolled their eyes. The title seemed like a parody of itself: Gerard Butler…on a plane. Right. He probably punches someone mid-flight. Right. And he has to save everyone from impending destruction. Right. We get it. We've seen this kind of story before, with Den of Thieves, with Olympus Has Fallen, with Copshop and Greenland and Hunter Killer—I could go on. The whole thing sounded like the kind of bargain-bin action flick you half-watch on a Sunday afternoon while folding laundry. And honestly? That's not entirely wrong. But what's surprising about Plane is that, despite its throwback packaging and B-movie premise, it manages to be… solid. More than solid, really. And in today's landscape of overbaked blockbusters and algorithm-churned content, 'solid' feels almost radical. In fact, it's a fantastic way to spend 107 minutes in front of the television. The film follows Captain Brodie Torrance (Butler), a widowed pilot just trying to get through a New Year's Eve flight from Singapore to Tokyo. On board his flight is a handful of passengers, a convicted murderer in cuffs (Mike Colter) and a weather pattern that would make anyone nervous to fly. After a harrowing emergency landing on a remote island controlled by anti-government militias, the film veers into full-throttle jungle mayhem, with Butler and Colter teaming up for a violent fight for survival. Essentially, it's Sully meets Rambo, but with more grit and less polish. Critics were quick to admit their expectations were low—and that the movie cleared the bar with surprising ease. Over at The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck praises the 'breathlessly paced suspenser' and Richet's clarity in staging action sequences. He singles out a brutal, single-take fistfight that gives Plane some real brawn, and applauds the film's ability to sneak in character beats without slowing the tempo. 'It gets the job done,' Scheck writes, 'which is more than you can say for most genre films these days.' Variety's Owen Gleiberman described Plane as a genre blender that keeps pivoting, from disaster film to jungle thriller to buddy movie, but never loses its grip. He compared it to something pre-Die Hard, when action movies felt more grounded in character than spectacle. Butler, now in his 50s, leans into the role with just enough gruff sincerity to make Brodie feel like more than a stock hero. And Colter's Louis Gaspare might be one of the more interesting sidekicks in recent action memory: stoic, enigmatic, and constantly teetering between threat and ally. David Ehrlich at IndieWire was even more enthusiastic. He framed Plane as a dad-movie dream, praising its 'sinewy sincerity' and restraint. Unlike so many modern action flicks, Plane takes its time. The cockpit sequences are given space to breathe. The fight scenes are brutal but coherent. And Butler, as Ehrlich puts it, 'knows his strengths like the back of a bad guy's broken neck.' There's a warmth to the movie that makes its cliches feel earned, not lazy. It's throwback cinema, sure—but of the kind that actually throws punches you feel. That doesn't mean Plane is without its issues. Its portrayal of the Philippines as a third-world hellscape hasn't gone unnoticed. Nor has its simplistic view of geopolitical conflict. But even those critiques sit beside acknowledgment that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a film where a man MacGyvers a jungle phone line just to call his daughter, fights mercenaries with a handgun and a headset, and then climbs back into a busted jet to finish what he started. It's ridiculous…but intentionally so. In an era where so many action movies feel bloated, impersonal, or too preoccupied with setting up spin-offs, Plane is refreshingly straightforward. It's less than two hours long, and its pulp fiction done right. You might not remember every detail after the credits roll, but for a film called Plane, it doesn't just fly—it lands.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cooper Koch says he auditioned to play a Menendez brother in two other productions before Netflix series
, star of Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez, has revealed that prior to landing the role of Erik Menendez in the hit Netflix series, he had auditioned to play one of the brothers in not one, but two other TV productions. Koch recently appeared in conversation with actor Sam Nivola as part of Variety's Actors On Actors interview series. Whilst speaking with Nivola, he admitted that he had his sights set on playing one of the brothers for years before landing his big break in last year's series. 'My second audition ever was for the Law & Order series about them in 2017,' he revealed. 'And then I also had an audition for the Lifetime movie that they were doing the same year. I just felt like this insane cosmic, universe-y thing that was like, 'I have to play this part,'' Koch told Nivola. 'It was just that immense empathy that you feel for a person, and I had to do it'. And this immense empathy.' Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders was released in 2017, starring Gus Halper and Miles Gaston Villanueva as Erik and Lyle respectively. Edie Falco also starred as Leslie Abramson, the defense attorney who represented the brothers. The Lifetime movie Menendez: Blood Brothers was released that same year, starring as Nico Tortorella as Lyle and Myko Olivier as Erik. Hole frontwoman Courtney Love also starred as the brothers' mother Kitty. View this post on Instagram A post shared by popandfilms 🏳️🌈 (@popandfilms) Koch also said that he felt connected to the brothers for a number of reasons, including that they both attended the same Calabasas high school. 'There are all these weird parallels,' he said. 'I still care so deeply about both of them. They're going to parole board in June; that looks very positive,' he went on to say. The actor has been open about his support for the brothers throughout the promotional campaign for the show, saying : 'It is my firm belief that the Menéndez Brothers did not receive a fair second trial and all the evidence that supported their claims of sexual, psychological, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their mother and father were not considered.' Koch also recalled his rigorous prepation for the playing Menendez, telling Nivola he poured over recordings of the brother for months before shooting: 'I listened to him every night before I went to bed. I had him on in the car when I was driving,' he recalled. 'I really did want to get his voice and mannerisms, because they all further support that he was being sexually abused by his father. I know there's so many perspectives, but I always wanted the audience to sympathise with him.' The performer would later go on to be nominated for a Golden Globe award for his turn in the series. The post Cooper Koch says he auditioned to play a Menendez brother in two other productions before Netflix series appeared first on Attitude.
