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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Kristin Contino

'Gossip Girl' Star Michelle Trachtenberg Dies at 39

Michelle Trachtenberg wearing a rose gold sequined gown standing in front of a white step and repeat.

Michelle Trachtenberg, best known for her role as Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl, has died at the age of 39. According to the New York Post, the actress "was found by her mother around 8 a.m." on Wednesday, Feb. 26. at her New York City apartment.

Per sources, Trachtenberg recently received a liver transplant and the death is not being considered suspicious. According to the Post, the NYPD confirmed the star was "unconscious and unresponsive" and she was pronounced dead at the scene. TMZ also reported that "police and paramedics responded to a call for a woman in cardiac arrest, and found Michelle unresponsive."

Her death follows a series of Instagram posts that worried fans over the past year. In January 2024, Trachtenberg wrote that she was "happy and healthy" in response to social media users' various claims, which included drug and alcohol abuse and malnutrition.

Trachtenberg is seen at a 2023 party for designer Christian Siriano. (Image credit: Getty Images)

"Fun fact. This is my face. Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have you hate? Get a calendar," she wrote on another post.

Along with her role on Gossip Girl, Trachtenberg starred as Sarah Michelle Gellar's sister, Dawn, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with other standout roles including the title character in the 1996 movie Harriet the Spy.

An official cause of death will be made by a NYC medical examiner, per the New York Post.

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