By: Vanessa Hofer
If in ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘Ice Princess’, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, or ‘Harriet the Spy’, the majority of Gen Z knows Michelle Trachtenberg from at least one TV show or movie. Most students from McPherson College said that even though they didn’t recognize her name, they have seen her on the TV screen before. Others knew exactly who she was from not just one but several roles and most of them enjoyed her appearances. In general, she was a well-known actress in the TV industry. However, her successful career as an actress has now come to an end.
According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Trachtenberg was born on Oct. 11, 1985 in New York City, the same city where her life recently ended at only 39 years of age. Unlike many other celebrity deaths, hers was natural and found unsuspicious. Trachtenberg has undergone a liver transplantation some time prior to her death, which came with complications and is assumed to have been the ultimate cause of her death. She was found unresponsive by her mother in her appartement in Manhattan, on the morning of Feb. 26, 2025.
Based on IMDb, the actress was the daughter of Lana Trachtenberg, a bank manager born in Ukraine, and Michael Trachtenberg, a fiber-optics manager from Germany. Both her parents were Jewish immigrants in the United States. She grew up in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn with her parents and her sister Irene Trachtenberg but later moved to Los Angeles where she finished high school. Ever since she was 3 years old, acting has been a part of Trachtenberg’s life, which she mainly focused on after graduating from high school.
Trachtenberg had a successful career as an actress in the Hollywood scene. Her first time on TV was in a commercial for Wisk when she was only 3 years old. After that, her movie career started in 1996 with ‘Harriet the Spy’, in which she starred as the main character. Following that, she starred in popular movies like ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ in 2000, ‘EuroTrip’ in 2004 and the Walt Disney Pictures’ movie the ‘Ice Princess’ in 2005. Starting in 2006 she took on roles in shows such as ‘Law&Order: Criminal Intent’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ as well as more movie roles like Maggie in the movie ‘17 Again’.
While starring in many more commercials, shows and movies, Trachtenberg was nominated for several awards and also won some of them. Stated on IMDb, she received three Young Artist Awards: one for the Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actress in 1997 for ‘Harriet the Spy’, one for the Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Supporting Young Actress in 1998 for ‘Meego’ and one for the Best Performance in a TV Drama Series: Supporting Young Actress in 2001 for ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. On top of that, she also won The Sarasota Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Performer in 2007 for ‘Beautiful Ohio’.
While Trachtenberg’s career exposed her to the public at all times, she liked to keep her private life hidden. However, following her death, many celebrities expressed their condolences and only had positive attributes to mention about her character, life and career. She was not only known and liked by McPherson College students but was also a beloved colleague and valued friend, who will be missed in the Hollywood scene.
