# Didn't see this one coming: Michelle Trachtenberg has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [February 26, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835 "2025-02-26T18:08:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/1 "2025-02-26T18:08:22Z")
> **[Michelle Trachtenberg Dies: ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer,’ ‘EuroTrip’ &...](https://deadline.com/2025/02/michelle-trachtenberg-dead-gossip-girl-buffy-1236302469/)** > > Michelle Trachtenberg, star of film and television projects like 'Gossip Girl' and 'EuroTrip,' has died at the age of 39, Deadline has confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/2 "2025-02-26T18:19:12Z")
Damn, way too young. Also hard to believe she was 39 already. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/3 "2025-02-26T18:20:30Z")
Oof, yeah, hard to believe she was 39. The success rate for a liver transplant is generally pretty high, but not perfect. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/4 "2025-02-26T18:27:13Z")
Man, that one hits hard. I always loved her on The Adventures of Pete and Pete when I was a kid. Lost her way too young. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/5 "2025-02-26T18:32:14Z")
There’s been a lot of talk lately about a _Buffy_ revival with some original cast members, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/6 "2025-02-26T18:33:32Z")
Oh my God! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/7 "2025-02-26T18:39:07Z")
I just saw this. My daughter acted with her on Pete & Pete and when I took my daughter to the location we frequently ate dinner with her and her mother (who found her.) She was the embodiment of professionalism and charisma at a very young age. One night, near midnight, they were filming a scene on some railroad tracks. As they set up the scene, Michelle was acting like a pre-teen at midnight, goofing around, laughing. But when the director called action she was right there and did her job perfectly. It was so impressive! All the kids on that show were great, but Michelle stood out. I was not surprised at all that she went on to bigger things. She deserved it. Such a tragedy. I feel for her mother, who is a really nice lady. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/8 "2025-02-26T18:59:01Z")
People had been commenting on her weight gain recently, which was really unfair. Knew nothing about her personal health issues, liver related. This was a huge shock. Youngest cast member, first to die. Reminds me of when Richard Biggs died from Babylon 5. We did not expect such a vibrant, young cast member to die. This is much worse, though. I’m stunned. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/9 "2025-02-26T19:11:08Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Such a tragedy. I feel for her mother, who is a really nice lady. Mom found her body, too. Ugh. > [@](#): > > > Trachtenberg was found by her mother at around 8 a.m. Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex on Central Park South, the sources said. > > > The actress recently underwent a liver transplant, according to the sources. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/10 "2025-02-26T20:39:36Z")
I’ll always envision her as a teen since Buffy and Eurotrip are all I’ve seen her in. I was surprised to hear she was 39. This was shocking news today. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/11 "2025-02-26T20:56:08Z")
I watched a short-lived series where she was a nurse. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/12 "2025-02-26T21:09:56Z")
I only knew her from a brief role on Six Feet Under, but I found her striking and memorable. Always sorry to see a young person die early. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/13 "2025-02-26T21:11:09Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I watched a short-lived series where she was a nurse. Mercy ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/14 "2025-02-26T21:29:35Z")
I can’t find anything about why she needed a liver transplant. She’s pretty young to need that from alcohol use or Hep C, but there are other diseases which could have harmed her liver. Just sad that someone so young had to go through that. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/15 "2025-02-26T21:30:53Z")
I forgot she was on _Pete and Pete_. She had a great episode of _House_, too. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/16 "2025-02-26T21:35:06Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > She had a great episode of _House_, too. With a quite memorable resolution. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/17 "2025-02-26T21:35:54Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Reminds me of when Richard Biggs died from Babylon 5. We did not expect such a vibrant, young cast member to die. I got his autograph at a convention, on a picture, as a gift for my sister. She was a pharmacist so I asked him to say something “medical:” He wrote Give me drugs! He had also played a doctor on a soap opera, and said science fiction fans were more rational than soap fans. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/18 "2025-02-26T23:23:34Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I got his autograph at a convention, on a picture, as a gift for my sister. She was a pharmacist so I asked him to say something “medical:” He wrote Give me drugs! Hey, if you have it I’d love to see a picture of it! That’s great! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/19 "2025-02-26T23:55:19Z")
> [@SwissMan](#): > > I always loved her on The Adventures of Pete and Pete when I was a kid. That’s also the main thing I remember her for, she was Iggy Pop’s daughter on that show. She was really good at playing an odd character who paired well with Little Pete, it was a great breakout role for her. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835/20 "2025-02-27T00:30:53Z")
Took me a tick, but I remembered what you meant [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-see-this-one-coming-michelle-trachtenberg-has-died/1014835.md?page=2)