Michelle Trachtenberg’s cause of death has been established one day after she was found dead in her apartment.
On Thursday, New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner shared that the 39-year-old’s cause of death was ruled “undetermined.” A spokesperson for the office told the New York Post that the ruling came after Trachtenberg’s family objected to an autopsy.
Sources also told the publication that the office honored the request from Trachtenberg’s family due to New York State’s public health law. Ultimately, the decision not to do the autopsy limited what could be determined about the Gossip Girl alum’s cause of death.
On Wednesday, police responded to a 911 call just after 8 a.m. at Trachtenberg’s home in One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex on Central Park South. She was found dead in her apartment by her mother.
The NYPD confirmed they found Trachtenberg “unconscious and unresponsive,” and she was pronounced dead by emergency medical workers.
According to the Post, she recently underwent a liver transplant.
Trachtenberg’s acting career took off in the Nineties thanks to her role as Dawn Summers in the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She remained on the show until it ended in 2003
She also played the lead role in Disney’s 2005 comedy sports film Ice Princess as Casey Carlyle before taking on her signature role as antagonist Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl, which ran on The CW from 2007 to 2012. Trachtenberg returned to the part for two episodes of Max’s recent Gossip Girl revival.
Fans had raised concerns about the actor’s health and wellbeing last year. At the time, a series of photos on her Instagram page last year prompted some to speculate about her apparent weight loss and somewhat gaunt appearance.
However, in January 2024, she responded to those concerns, saying she was “happy and healthy” and had never had plastic surgery. “Explain to me how I look sick,” she wrote on Instagram. “Did you lose a calendar and not realize I’m not 14. I’m 38. How sad for you to leave such a comment.”
A number of celebrities have paid tribute following Trachtenberg’s death including Rosie O’Donnell — who claimed that the actor was struggling over the years.
“Heartbreaking,” she said in a statement about Trachtenberg’s passing. “I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”
O’Donnell worked with Trachtenberg on the 1996 Nickelodeon movie, Harriet the Spy. In the film, which was one of Trachtenberg's first acting roles, she played a sixth-grader who aspired to be a writer and a spy, while O’Donnell played her character’s nanny.
Meanwhile, Blake Lively — who played Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl — shared a moving tribute on Instagram Wednesday night. In her Instagram Story, she shared a throwback photo of her and Trachtenberg on set, before mourning her friend’s “electric” personality.
“You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200 percent,” Lively wrote. “She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself.”
“She was a kind person through and through. Time passes. You take for granted that you get the chance to see an old friend,” the actor concluded. “Hold those you love and have loved dear. The world lost a deeply sensitive and good person in Michelle. May her work and her huge heart be remembered by those who were lucky enough to experience her fire.”
