Sarah Michelle Gellar has paid tribute to her Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, who has died aged 39.
Gossip Girl actor Trachtenberg, who starred in a myriad of 90s and 2000s TV shows and movies, was reportedly found dead by her mother in her New York City apartment near Central Park on 26 February.
The actor played Buffy’s sister Dawn in later seasons of the hit show and, the following day, Gellar memorialised her by modifying a famous line of dialogue from an episode of the series, in which Buffy urged her sister to flourish in life as she prepared to sacrifice her own.
“Michelle, listen to me,” Gellar wrote. “Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.”
Gellar also added a key emoji in reference to Trachtenberg’s character on the show. Shortly after arriving in the series, Dawn was revealed to be the human form of a mythical key with the power to unlock another dimension.
Her post, which was awaited by dedicated fans of the fantasy show, was met with an outpouring of emotion, with many sharing their sadness and grief in response.
The NYPD confirmed they found Trachtenberg “unconscious and unresponsive” and she was pronounced dead by emergency medical workers.
Her cause of death is not yet known, though police are not treating it as suspicious, sources told the New York Post. The New York Medical Examiner is investigating the cause of death.
The actor’s untimely death has sent shockwaves among millennials, who grew up watching her in several iconic titles, including the 2005 sports movie Ice Princess, the 1996 family comedy Harriet the Spy and the 2009 Zac Efron-led comedy fantasy 17 Again.
More of Trachtenberg’s former co-stars, including Blake Lively and Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl), Kim Cattrall (Ice Princess) and Rosie O’Donnell (Harriet the Spy), have also reacted to the “heartbreaking” news of her passing.
Westwick paid tribute to her on Instagram, writing: “So sad to hear of the passing of [Michelle Trachtenberg]. Sending prayers,” while O’Donnell said in a statement: “I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”
