Michelle Trachtenberg remembered by co-star Rosie O’Donnell: “I wish I could have helped”
Actor and TV host Rosie O’Donnell has paid tribute to former co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, who died on January 26 aged 39.
Trachtenberg was found unresponsive in her apartment in New York City on Wednesday (January 26), after emergency services responded to a 911 call. Authorities said the actress was pronounced dead at the scene, and a medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
The investigation is ongoing, although at this point no criminality is suspected.
O’Donnell appeared with the star in the 1996 family comedy Harriet The Spy, made when Trachtenberg was 11. In a statement to Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday, O’Donnell said: “I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped”.
Michelle Trachtenberg first came to public attention as a child star, appearing in the show The Adventures of Pete & Pete, as well as 1999’s Inspector Gadget. As an adult, she transitioned into comedy movies, working on the films EuroTrip and 17 Again opposite Zac Efron.
Perhaps her most famous role, however, came in the early ‘00s when she played Dawn Summers in the show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The character was the younger sister of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s lead, making her debut in season five of the show, ultimately appearing in 66 episodes.
In the 2010s, she portrayed Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl. Her character was a former friend of Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen and a scheming Manhattan socialite who would routinely find herself clashing with Serena and Leighton Meester’s Blair Waldorf.
Trachtenberg’s Buffy co-star James Marsters paid tribute on Instagram, saying: “My heart is heavy today. 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”.
He concluded: “My heart goes out to her family who are good people, and are suffering the greatest loss anyone could bear. I hope everyone can give them space to heal in this most difficult time. Godspeed Michelle. You are missed”.
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Victoria Luxford
NME
