On Wednesday, February 26th, news broke that NYC-born actor and Nickelodeon child star Michelle Trachtenberg passed away at 39 years old. According to reports, Trachtenberg, who had recently undergone a liver transplant, died of natural causes and no foul play was suspected, according to the NYPD.
Millennials grew up with Trachtenberg and her precocious roles: Harriet the Spy, based on the beloved children’s novels, and Nona F. Mecklenberg in Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete and Pete. As she aged, her fanbase stuck around for her more mature roles such as Dawn on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Georgina on Gossip Girl, the iconic YA novel-turned-series based in NYC.
Back in 2000, Trachtenberg spoke with Entertainment Weekly about her Buffy role and said, “I play an average 14 year old girl. I have my worries, I have my diary, I write all my thoughts in there. I have a relationship with Buffy that’s kind of sisterly. I have a little crush on Xander, I think Willow’s cool.” Despite it all, she assured her interviewers, “We’re definitely not going for the ‘cute kid’ thing.”
But we millennials can’t help but think back to those early days. Her first roles were as nostalgic to the actor as they were for those following along. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight from 2021, the actor reflected on Harriet the Spy, a film made in 1996, and joked with ET’s Leanne Aguilera: “Don’t you effing make me cry.”
But the sentimentality was understandable, especially when she followed up the interview by talking about her experience with fans: “When I do look at social media, which is challenging, [I see] them coming in with, ‘You inspired my life. You made me become a writer. All of those, just beautiful things.”