Former child actress Michelle Trachtenburg, who played Dawn Summers, Buffy’s younger sister on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, has died at the age of 39. She had recently undergone a liver transplant. No official cause of death has been announced yet, but many are theorizing that she died from complications of that surgical procedure.

Before Trachtenberg became a regular on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she was an award winning child actress. She starred in Harriet the Spy (1996), based on the popular book of the same name by Louise Fitzhugh. She appeared in the Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete and Pete as Nona F. Mecklenburg, the friend of one of the titular Petes. She appeared in the 2007-2012 TV show Gossip Girl as Georgina Sparks. In 1997, she was a regular in the short-lived sci-fi sitcom Meego as Maggie Parker, one of the Earthling children cared for by the shipwrecked alien Meego.

Michelle Trachtenberg began her career at the age of three, working in TV commercials. In grade school, she moved on to speaking roles, becoming a popular child actress in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. 1n 1997 she won a Young Artists Award for her portrayal of Maggie in Meego.

When she was only nineteen, she appeared in the teen sex comedy Euro Trip (2004), which also featured Xena, Warrior Princess‘ Lucy Lawless.

Michelle Trachtenburg was born October 11, 1985 in New York City, NY, USA. She died February 26, 2025, in New York City. Tragically, her mother was the one to discover the body, a horror for any parent. Although Lana Trachtenburg called 911, EMTs (emergency medical technicians) pronounced Michelle dead at the scene. No parent can imagine a worse fate.

For the first four seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy Summers was an only child, living in Sunnydale, CA, with her divorced mother. At the end of the fourth season, Buffy is shown yelling at or about someone named Dawn. Her mother, Joyce Summers, attempts to calm her down and tells her not to fight with her sister. That season finale left fans puzzled for months until fifth season started, and we met Dawn. Not an actual human girl, but a blob of mystical energy known as The Key and transformed into human shape. The Key was turned into a living girl and placed in the Slayer’s life as a younger sister, so Buffy would protect her. Buffy, and everyone who reasonably would have been familiar with her family, were given false memories to make them think Dawn had always been present in their lives and they’d watched her grow up. Michelle Trachtenburg appeared in every episode of the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

A group of mystic knights wished to capture or destroy Dawn, because as the Key, she could unlock interdimensional barriers. Buffy and the Scooby Gang were willing to fight to the death to protect her. Spike, the semi-tamed vampire played by James Marsters took an avuncular interest in Dawn.

Michelle Trachtenberg starred in the live-action Disney movie Ice Princess (2005) as Casey Carlyle who is torn between her mother’s dreams for her to achieve academic success at Harvard and her own dreams to become a champion figure skater.

Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror Roles

• In Inspector Gadget (1999), Michelle played Penny.
• In Seventeen Again (2009), Michelle played Maggie.
• Michelle won a Young Artists Award for her portrayal of Maggie in Meego.
• In the 2018 animated Sci-Fi sitcom, Human Kind of, Michelle voiced Judy Reilly.
• She was in two episodes of the supernatural crime drama Sleepy Hollow as Abigail Adams.
• In two episodes of the Super Hero Squad Show, she voiced the Valkyrie.
• She was the hostess of Truth or Scare.
• And most famously, she played Dawn Summers in 66 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Awards and Honors

Michelle was nominated for the Saturn Award three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2003, for Best Supporting Actress in a Televisiion Series.

She was nominated twice for a Teen Choice Award, in 2001 for TV Sidekick as Dawn on BTVS. She was nominated in 2012 for Choice TV Villain for Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl.

In 2004, Michelle was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series being the hostess of Truth or Scare,

Michelle was a five-time nominee for the Young Artist Award. She was nominated five times between1998 and 2002, and won twice.

Michelle is survived by her parents, Lana and Michael Trachtenberg, and her sister, Irene Trachtenberg. Michelle was unmarried and had no children. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends at this difficult time. The family has requested privacy. The best thing we can do is respect their wishes.

It is said that the candle that burns twice as brightly, burns half as long, and Michelle’s candle burned very, very brightly.

Sleep well, Michelle.