Michelle Trachtenberg

New York native Michelle Trachtenberg was featured in more than 100 commercials before she landed her first credited role in The Adventures of Pete & Pete. In 1996, she had the lead role in Harriet the Spy, followed by Inspector Gadget in 1999. In 2000, Trachtenberg began starring as Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role she played until the show’s end in 2003.

Trachtenberg also starred alongside Kim Cattrall in the 2005 Walt Disney family drama Ice Princess and with Zac Efron in the 2009 movie 17 Again. She has also had a guest role on the television show House and on the NBC medical drama Mercy. Trachtenberg had a recurring role as villainess Georgina Sparks on the CW show Gossip Girl for all six seasons, later reprising the role on Max’s 2022 reboot.

Us Weekly exclusively confirmed in October 2020 that Trachtenberg had been dating her talent agent, Jay Cohen, for more than one year.

News broke in February 2025 that Trachtenberg died at the age of 39.