Noughties icon Michelle Trachtenberg was reportedly in talks to return to the reboot of a major TV show before her tragic death this week
Noughties icon Michelle Trachtenberg was reportedly in talks to join a major television series before her tragic death this week.
The Gossip Girl star was found dead in her home in Manhattan, New York City, on Wednesday. The actress was only 39 when she passed away and her death is not being treated as suspicious by authorities. It is also believed she may have suffered from complications from a reported liver transplant.
Authorities said they responded to an emergency call at about 8am on Wednesday to One Columbus Place in New York and the Euro Trip actress was confirmed dead after emergency medical services arrived. Before her tragic death, she was reportedly in talks to join the cast of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot.
“Michelle Trachtenberg was in talks to return to Buffy the reboot and she was incredibly hopeful about it,” a source recently claimed. Michelle was best known for her role as Dawn Summers in the fantasy series. Dawn is the younger sister of titular character Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar).
The insider claimed Sarah wanted to bring Michelle back for the show and added the cast and Michelle’s friends were aware of her recent health issues. Speaking to MailOnline, they said: “They were hoping that, perhaps, casting her as Sarah’s sister in a reboot would help her overcome any issues she was having. She was not cast out by any means.”
Her early career was filled with roles in kid-friendly films and TV shows, including her breakout performance as the lead in Harriet the Spy. As a teenager, she became widely recognized for portraying Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the titular heroine in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later captivated audiences as the cunning and manipulative Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl, a role she played throughout the show’s six-season run.
Her friends and co-stars have paid tribute to the actress. Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor David Boreanaz, who played Angel on the series, said he was “so very sad” as he paid tribute to co-star Michelle. The US actor shared a tribute to Instagram stories with a black and white picture of Trachtenberg taken from a post shared by an American news site. He wrote: “So very sad. Horrible news. RIP and prayers to her and her family.”
Her Gossip Girl co-stars, including Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford, Blake Lively and close friend Taylor Momsen also paid tribute to the star.
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