Michelle Trachtenberg, who starred in Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died at the age of 39.
She was found unresponsive at her apartment at One Columbus Place, New York City, just after 8am local time, it has been reported.
Emergency medical services pronounced her dead at the scene, police said in a statement.
Her death is not being treated as suspicious and the police said the medical examiner will determine her cause of death.
Trachtenberg rose to fame at just 10, in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy as an 11-year-old given to spying on neighbours and classmates, and concocting outrageous lies to embellish the everyday details in her private journal.
She was also known for playing Penny in 1999 spy film Inspector Gadget and Jenny in 2004 movie EuroTrip.
Trachtenberg entered hit show Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its fifth season as Dawn, the younger sister of Buffy, and became a regular until the series came to an end in 2003.
In 2005 she starred opposite Sex And The City actress Kim Cattrall in Ice Princess and in 2009 she was in teen comedy 17 Again alongside Zac Efron.
Between 2008 and 2012, she played Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl alongside Blake Lively. She reprised her role in the second series of the recent Gossip Girl sequel.
“It’s kind of easy to be evil when you’re saying evil things,” said Trachtenberg of her Gossip Girl role in 2009.
“It’s definitely a lot more fun than playing the good girl. I love the reaction you get. I never understood why some actors don’t want to play villains or evil characters.”
How I Met Your Mother actress Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg, shared a series of photos of Trachtenberg including old pictures from when they shared scenes.
She said: “I am deeply saddened by the news of Michelle’s passing. She brought a loving energy to the set of Buffy. My thoughts are with Michelle’s family and friends.”
Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor David Boreanaz said he is “so very sad” as he paid tribute to co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, who died aged 39.
The US actor shared a tribute to Instagram stories with a black and white picture of Trachtenberg taken from a post shared by an American news site.
He wrote: “So very sad. Horrible news. RIP and prayers to her and her family.”The actress played Dawn Summers, sister of main character Buffy Ann Summers, who was romantically linked to Angel, portrayed by Boreanaz.
US comedian Rosie O’Donnell has said the loss of her Harriet The Spy co-star Michelle Trachtenberg is “heartbreaking”.
US actor James Marsters has paid tribute to his Buffy The Vampire Slayer co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, describing her as “howlingly funny”.
Marsters, who played Spike in the hit show, said Trachtenberg was “a beautiful soul” as he shared a selfie of the two together on Instagram.
He wrote: “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.
“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.”
She said in a statement: “Heartbreaking. I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”
Gossip Girl Co-star, Ed Westwick said in an Instagram Story that he was “so sad to hear of the passing of Michelle Trachtenberg sending prayers”.
The actor played Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl who was engaged in an on-off relationship with Trachtenberg’s character.
In 2001, Trachtenberg received a Daytime Emmy nomination for hosting Discovery’s Truth or Scare.
Trachtenberg went on to recurring roles on Six Feet Under and Weeds.
Her other credits included Ice Princess in 2005 where she played a maths prodigy and aspiring figure skater.
For Killing Kennedy, the 2013 film in which she played the wife of Lee Harvey Oswald, around 80 per cent of Trachtenberg’s dialogue was in Russian. She had learned the language from her mother growing up.
Other credits included supporting roles in the films Mysterious Skin in 2004 and Black Christmas in 2006.
She also starred on the NBC medical series Mercy (2009-2010) opposite Taylor Schilling. More recently, she hosted the true-crime docuseries Meet, Marry, Murder on Tubi.
Trachtenberg also had a cameo role in Fall Out Boy’s music video for “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race”, alongside Seth Green.
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