Trending 27th February 2025 by Jade Hayden

Tributes Paid To Gossip Girl’s Michelle Trachtenberg

She passed away this week

 

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Tributes are being paid to actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who passed away this week, aged 39.

Trachtenberg, who best known for her roles in Gossip Girl and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, passed away in her New York City apartment on February 26.

Friends and co-stars, including Blake Lively and Melissa Joan Hart, have been sharing tributes to the actress following her “heartbreaking” passing.

Lively, who starred alongside Trachtenberg on Gossip Girl, said she was “fiercely loyal” and “big and bold.”

She wrote: “She was electricity. You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200%.

“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.”

Blake went on: “She was a kind person through and through. Time passes. You take for granted that you get the chance to see an old friend. To paraphrase, the real tragedies in life are the ones that blindside you on an idle Tuesday.

“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.”

Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, said: “So sad to hear of the passing of Michelle Trachtenberg. Sending prayers.”

Melissa Joan Hart, who starred in an episode of Clarissa Explains It All with Michelle, wrote: “I’m heartbroken to hear of the passing of @michelletrachtenberg!! So young, so talented and so sweet!

“Here is a fun scene from when she was on #ClarissaExplainsItAll. I think this was about 1992 and the episode was an idea I had about babysitting a total nightmare. But Michelle was nothing like her character and even this young, we got along wonderfully.”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow on the show, said: “I am deeply saddened by the news of Michelle’s passing. She brought a loving energy to the set of Buffy. My thoughts are with Michelle’s family and friends.”

 

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Rosie O’Donnell told People: “I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”

While Joshua Safran, Gossip Girl producer, shared his own tribute on Twitter. He said: “It was an honour and joy to write for Michelle for so many years. Writers don’t write specific characters on shows, even though many people believe they do.

“However, Georgina unlocked something in me in which writing her was the easiest thing I’d done. It was partially the character: devious, delicious, direct — the most fun to write. But it was also Michelle. She had such a clear voice as an actor. You heard her as you typed.

“You knew she’d make each line rougher, more real, much funnier — and that made the writing better. She was an inspiration and an icon. There’s many reasons GG1 caught fire when we came back from the strike, but one of the biggest was the intro of her arc. The injection of *her.*

“Long live Georgina Sparks, and the brilliant woman who gave her the fire. You will be forever missed. xoxo”