Michelle Trachtenberg dies at 39
Thursday, 13 Mar 2025
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I’m shocked and heartbroken. So, so sad.
I am stunned. Whatever the cause, I hope her final days were peaceful, at least.
Dude the way my heart just fucking *dropped*
I thought this was another one of those “Celebrity, star of X, has passed the age of Y” or whatever like the posts that look like obituaries but aren’t but this one is real
Rest in peace my Ice Princess Dawn Summers 😭
ETA- if I must hurt more than you all should too- her mom found her
NO. Not Dawnie. She’s my age and would have turned 40 this year.
I was just talking to a friend about the Buffy reboot and Dawn was the only character I really expected/wanted to hear from. I knew Michelle was maybe not super healthy, but I hadn’t expected this.
I never expected her to be the first one to go from the main cast.
So young.
SMG must be so devastated.
Oh no. I was so worried about her after seeing her recent posts on instagram. Sigh. May she rest in peace.
😭😭😭 what?!? I really thought this was a hoax. It appears to be real 😢
I honestly don’t know how to process this. I LOVED Harriet the Spy as a kid and I’m a similar age to Michelle, so I think that’s why it’s hard for me to process that she has passed. Much love to everyone who knew and loved her.
Absolutely gutted right now
Wtf
Holy shit. Genuinely shocking and heartbreaking.
This is her tarot card in the Buffy deck. May the characters she played that touched our lives give us strength to live and be brave in her honor 💔
I’m stunned
RIP 💔
Wow, complete insanity. Don’t even know what to say, 39??? So frigging young.
She’s looked so sick for a while now. This is tragic.
WHAT?! Oh my god, she was so young! This is making me so emotional! I hope she’s at peace
This is so sad, rewatching Buffy now with my daughter and Dawn just made her appearance. RIP Michelle.
I have and will always be a defender of Michelle Trachtenberg and Dawn Summers. Michelle masterfully portrayed a young, 15 year-old girl going through some of the strangest, most traumatic experiences a human can imagine. And Michelle played it all with such sympathy. Such kindness. Dawn always got an unfair shake. But she was a kid. A kid just trying her best to be there for all of these emotionally immature yet powerful adults. Michelle always held her own. RIP to a true icon.
Oh, wow
Wtf?!
Damn. She was only a year older than I am. This is heartbreaking, I loved Michelle in all her roles, not just as Dawn. Harriet the Spy is actually an old fave of mine. Whatever was wrong with her, I hope it was as peaceful and pain free as possible.
Oh my gosh. This is so sad
I’m in shock. RIP Michelle.
39 is too young
What the actual …
Good lord.
I remember Michelle and Amanda Bynes wishing Blue, of Blue’s Clues, a happy birthday as guests on the show; she must have been eight or nine. (My kid was an avid Blues Clues fan back in the day.)
She can’t die. She’s a little kid.
I pray for the repose of her soul and for some measure of peace and comfort for her family, especially her mother. No parent should outlive their child.
May she rest in peace.
I just rewatched The Body recently, and was blown away by her handling of heavy material in that episode given how young she was. She really was a terrific actress and a lot of the standout moments in the show are from her sibling chemistry with SMG. What a loss.
Jesus Christ. I’m in tears. Poor girl, so young. RIP, Michelle.
Awful, Awful news.
Rest well, Michelle
“The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing-wax Of cabbages and kings And why the sea is boiling hot And whether pigs have wings.’ From Harriet the Spy.
OMG
This is absolutely tragic, for anyone to die so young, is incredibly tragic. I adored her Dawn character, especially in season 7, the way she made the character grow, she was such an amazing young actress. Genuine tears and sadness.
Holy shit this is unbelievably sad news. I had been hoping for some continuation of Dawn’s story in the upcoming reboot.
She’s one of those talents who I would look up every so often hoping she had some new project coming, loved her in Eurotrip post Buffy but don’t think I’d seen her in much since
Way too young.
I legitimately can’t handle this.
This can’t be real
Just absolutely no.
Oh my fucking God why.
I hate this whole broken world.
Oh god, this is heartbreaking. She was so young. And I think she and SMG had remained close so Sarah has been hit with two really hard losses within a year after Shannon Doherty died as well. My heart goes out to all her family and friends.
“Where did she go?”
This line is going to hit even harder now. May she rest in peace. 😔