'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Harriet the Spy' Actress Michelle Trachtenberg Dead at 39

Michelle Trachtenberg is dead, as first reported by WABC and the New York Post.

According to an initial ABC report, citing police sources, Trachtenberg was found dead in a New York City apartment on Wednesday. The actress, who first broke through as a Nickelodeon star, was 39.

The ABC report says Trachtenberg was found Wednesday morning by her mother. According to sources cited by the outlet, the beloved Harriet the Spy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress had recently undergone a liver transplant procedure.

When reached for comment by Complex, an NYPD rep confirmed Trachtenberg's death. In a statement, the department said “criminality is not suspected,” adding that an official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner's office:

"Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased. Criminality is not suspected. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing."

Trachtenberg’s proper TV debut came in 1994 with The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which saw the child star playing cast-wearing neighbor Nona F. Mecklenberg. By 1996, she had made her feature film debut with Harriet the Spy, a key title in Nick's roster due to its distinction as the inaugural Nickelodeon Movies production.

On Buffy, Trachtenberg played Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the deeply influential series’ title character, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. After first appearing as the character at the top of the show’s fifth season, Trachtenberg remained a main cast member through the series’ conclusion in 2003.

In 2007, she appeared alongside fellow Buffy alum Seth Green in the video for Fall Out Boy’s Infinity on High single and Hot 100 hit “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race.” This was followed by a Complex cover story in 2010, the same year Trachtenberg was seen in Kevin Smith’s Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan-led Cop Out.

Trachtenberg was also known for her 28-episode run as Georgina Sparks in the CW teen drama Gossip Girl, a role to which she returned for Max’s subsequent revival series, as well as for memorable turns in the comedies EuroTrip and 17 Again.

The New York-born actress was a pop culture mainstay across multiple decades, having brought to life not one but multiple forever-celebrated characters.

RIP.