Michelle Trachtenberg’s Cause of Death Ruled Undetermined as Family Declines Autopsy

The cause of death for Michelle Trachtenberg, the “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star, will remain undetermined as her family declined an autopsy.

Families can decline autopsies when there is no evidence of foul play or for religious reasons. 

According to the NYPD, 39-year-old Trachtenberg was found “unconscious and unresponsive” at her New York City apartment on Wednesday morning. 

The EMS then arrived and pronounced her deceased. Criminality was not suspected and, as such, her cause of death will remain unknown.

Trachtenberg began acting at a young age, getting her start in commercials at three years old before landing her first TV role on the Nickelodeon series “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” in the mid-’90s. 

At age 10, she scored her first major film role with 1996’s “Harriet the Spy,” in which she played the title character. 

In the early 2000s, she played Dawn Summers on the teen drama “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which she joined in its fifth season and remained part of until its end in 2003.

She also became well-known for her role on another teen drama, “Gossip Girl,” as the villainous Georgina Sparks. Her character recurred throughout the show’s run from 2007 to 2012, and reappeared on the short-lived 2022 reboot for two episodes. Her other film credits include 2004’s “Eurotrip,” 2005’s “Ice Princess” and 2009’s “17 Again” alongside Zac Efron.

Several of Trachtenberg’s co-stars, including “Buffy” star Sarah Michelle Gellar, paid tribute to her on social media.

“Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you,” Gellar wrote on Instagram accompanied by a photo gallery of the two together in “Buffy.” “The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you”.