Michelle Trachtenberg, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Buffy’ actress, dead at 39

(NEXSTAR) – Actress Michelle Trachtenberg has died, New York police confirmed Wednesday.

Trachtenberg was found unconscious and unresponsive in a Manhattan apartment at 8 a.m. Wednesday, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The death is not currently being investigated as suspicious, a police spokesperson said.

An official cause and manner of death will be determined following an autopsy by the medical examiner.

She was 39 years old.

Trachtenberg started acting as a child with small commercial and TV parts until she was cast as Nona F. Mecklenberg in Nickelodeon’s “The Adventures of Pete & Pete.” 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 parts in ultra-popular TV shows: first Dawn Summers in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and then later Georgina Sparks in “Gossip Girl.”

Her most recent listed acting credit was a return to her “Gossip Girl” character with a guest appearance in the show’s HBO remake in 2022.

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