Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg di3d of natural causes and may have suffered complications following a liver transplant, police sources told ABC News.
The star, 39, was found dead by her mother on Wednesday in her New York City apartment near Columbus Circle just after 8am local time.
Police told DailyMail.com that there is no foul play suspected in her d3ath. Sources told TMZ that the actress had been battling alcohol issues.
An autopsy will be carried out by the medical examiner’s office to establish the exact cause of d3ath.
‘On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at approximately 0801 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an aided individual at 1 Columbus Place, within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct,’ police said in a statement.
‘Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased.
‘Criminality is not suspected. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of d3ath. The investigation remains ongoing.’
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Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg has di3d aged 39 – pictured 2023
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Trachtenberg was discovered dead by her mother at this Upper West Side apartment building at 8am ET on Wednesday morning. A medical examiner’s van is pictured outside afterwards
Patients can receive a liver transplant after damaging the vital organ through alcohol abuse, hepatitis C or liver disease.
Anyone who’s received a liver transplant due to alcohol abuse is advised to abstain from alcohol afterwards.
Trachtenberg was best known for her on role teen supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer spanning 2000-2003.
She played Buffy’s younger sister Dawn Summers in 66 episodes of the hit show.
The Brooklyn native also had a recurring role as ‘The Witch of the Upper East Side’ Georgina Sparks in 28 episodes of The CW teen soap Gossip Girl spanning 2008-2012.
She also appeared in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy when she was 10 years old, alongside Rosie O’Donnell.
In recent years Trachtenberg had sparked concern for her health after sharing troubling social media posts in which she looked frail.
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Trachtenberg was found dead in the apartment by her mother, Lana
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The $7,500-a-month apartment where Trachtenberg di3d on Wednesday. She is understood to have been living there since September
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It was further reported the actress recently underwent a liver transplant and ‘may have been experiencing complications’
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Gossip Girl star Michelle Trachtenberg raised concerns among her fans after sharing 10 Instagram posts over the past three weeks ahead of her d3ath at age 39; seen in 2013
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She also appeared in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy when she was 10 years old, alongside Rosie O’Donnell. (Pictured: the two actors embracing on the set of Spy back in the nineties)
The former child star grew up in New York.
Her mother Lana and sister Irene later moved to Tarzana in California, while Michelle’s father Michael lives in an apartment in Brooklyn.
Trachtenberg’s former co-star O’Donnell, 62, released a statement to People describing the d3ath as ‘heartbreaking’.
‘I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped,’ O’Donnell said.
