(JTA) — Michelle Trachtenberg, who starred in films and TV shows ranging from “Harriet the Spy” to “Gossip Girl,” has died at 39.
She was discovered Wednesday in a Manhattan apartment complex, according to the New York Post. The cause of death was not immediately clear.
Trachtenberg was Jewish, and she said her mother immigrated from what is now Russia. She grew up in New York speaking English and Russian.
Trachtenberg got her start as a child actress on Nickelodeon, and had a breakout performance as the title character in 1996’s “Harriet the Spy.” From there, she starred in a variety of shows and movies in teenage roles. She was one of a trio of Jewish actresses to star in the supernatural series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” along with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan, and later appeared in a recurring role on the prep school drama “Gossip Girl.” In between, she starred in the raunchy 2004 teen comedy “EuroTrip.”
A proud Jewish background
She did not have any prominent roles in more recent years, though she appeared in two episodes of the “Gossip Girl” reboot in 2022.
On Instagram, Trachtenberg made occasional references to her Jewish identity, posting about a Hanukkah celebration a decade ago and again about the holiday in 2022. Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that launched the war in Gaza and touched off a wave of global antisemitism, Trachtenberg has posted photos of herself wearing a Star of David necklace and another, last year, of a Mickey Mouse Hanukkah backpack along with the caption “Please stop hatred towards the innocent .”