Michelle Trachtenberg’s cause of death revealed after Gossip Girl star was found dead by mom in luxury apartment aged 39

MICHELLE Trachtenberg’s cause of death has been revealed after the Gossip Girl star was found dead aged 39.

Trachtenberg’s body was found in her New York City apartment by her mom in February, just days after she posted selfies that left fans concerned for her health.

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Michelle Trachtenberg seen at an event in 2023Credit: Getty

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Trachtenberg was a child star who is most known for playing Georgina in Gossip Girl from 2007 to 2012Credit: Film Company

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She first rocketed onto the movie screen in 1996 when she scored the lead role in Harriet the SpyCredit: Getty

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Trachtenberg in her younger years actingCredit: alamy
Now, authorities in New York have said she died from complications due to diabetes, reports TMZ.

The actress is said to have passed away from “complications of diabetes mellitus” according to the medical examiner, who cited lab results.

However, the lab results did not reveal whether Trachtenberg had type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

She was found at around 8am on February 26 at a building in Manhattan, New York City, located near Central Park, by her mother in February.

Photos from Trachtenberg’s luxury Manhattan high-rise showed two forensic vehicles and a government van parked outside.

The coroner’s office initially said her cause of death would remain undetermined because her family requested an autopsy not be performed due to religious reasons.

The medical examiner’s office would automatically do an autopsy if the cause of death was suspected to involve foul play, but there was no suspicion.

Following the latest lab test results, the medical examiner’s office amended the cause of death.

It comes after the Gossip Girl star was said to have underwent a liver transplant in the months before she was found dead in her apartment.

The operation happened in the last year and Trachtenberg is believed to have been experiencing complications from it.

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And a week before her death, Trachtenberg shared a throwback look of herself from an awards show with the caption, “I wanted to look like naughty”.

But recent pictures of the actress sparked concern among fans, as they regularly commented to make sure she was okay.

Just days before her reported death, she snapped a selfie and added the caption “the warmth before the storm”.

Friends and former costars previously shared their heartbreak after hearing the news of Trachtenberg’s sudden death.

Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl, shared a picture of the gone-too-soon actress during her days on the show and said he was “so sad.”

“Sending prayers,” he said in the tragic Instagram story.

Kim Cattrall, who starred in Ice Princess alongside the young actress in 2005, shared a picture of the two together on set.

“Rest in peace sweet Michelle,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram.

Her Buffy co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar also paid tribute posting: “Michelle, listen to me.

“Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.”

Meanwhile, the Gossip Girl’s neighbors were shocked to learn of her death.

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Tributes poured in for Trachtenberg earlier this yearCredit: Instagram/michelletrachtenberg

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The actress during the 2005 Sundance Film FestivalCredit: Getty

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Trachtenberg at the Cadillac Oscar Celebration 2020 held at Chateau Marmont on February 6, 2020Credit: Splash

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She also starred as Buffy’s sister, Dawn Summers, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 2000 to 2003Credit: Alamy
Raphael Noufled, 24, has lived in the building for 20 years and told The U.S. Sun he had limited interactions with the actress but was still stunned to see police and media surrounding his building.

“I walked out this morning to go on a run then I saw [press] guys with the cameras, so I asked around and heard the sad news,” he shared.

“I didn’t know her personally or anything about her health but she seemed alright. So obviously it was a big shock to hear she passed away this morning.

“Gossip Girl is the only show I watched from her, but she was obviously a great actress. People loved her, people are here to pay their respects.”

Trachtenberg began her career as a child, starring in The Adventures of Pete and Pete before landing the lead role in popular kids movie Harriet the Spy.

Throughout her teen years, Trachtenberg continued to make recurring roles in TV shows, most notably in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played Buffy’s sister.

Though many fans remember her from the CW drama series Gossip Girl, where she starred as the character audiences loved to hate, Georgina Sparks.

After news of Trachtenberg’s death emerged, a clip from 2010 where she spoke about her time in school resurfaced.

Then age 24, she revealed she was bullied by her classmates.

“The kids were cruel,” she told the TV host Cat Greenleaf, the former host of Talk Stoop.

“I had a really really horrible time in school. They were terrible and torturous and evil.”

The actress believed the reason stemmed from her fame as a child star.

Trachtenberg also opened up on her time at school on social media.

“The kids were cruel,” she revealed in an Instagram post from 2020.

“There is no need to harp on the past.

“But I still have scars from being thrown down stairs and slammed into lockers head first.”

The actress was born in New York City in 1985 to Jewish immigrant parents.

She told Radio Free in 2005 that her dad Michael had traveled to the US from Germany, and her mom, Lana, was from Russia.

Her mom and sister Irene lived in Tarzana, a suburb of Los Angeles, and her father lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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Her body was found in February at a luxury high rise in Manhattan in New York CityCredit: Israel Rodriguez/The U.S. Sun

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She reportedly died due to diabetes complicationsCredit: Getty

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Michelle Trachtenberg died aged 39Credit: Getty

Michelle Trachtenberg’s career

Michelle Trachtenberg began her career as a child actress, starring in over 62 movies and TV shows before her sudden death at age 39.

Notable roles throughout her career include:

1994: Nona Mecklenberg in The Adventures of Pete & Pete
1996: Harriet in Harriet the Spy
1997: Dawn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1999: Penny Brown in Inspector Gadget
2001: Hosted and narrated Truth or Scare
2004: Jenny in Euro Trip
2005: Casey Carlyle in Ice Princess
2006: Melissa in Black Christmas
2007: Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl
2009: Maggie in 17 Again
2015: Megan Phillips in The Christmas Gift
2022-2023: Georgina Sparks in the Gossip Girl reboot

The star also made cameo appearances in major TV shows:

2006: Lisa Tyler in Law and Order: Criminal Intent
2006: Melinda Bardach in House
2013: Lily Lockhart in NCIS: Los Angeles
2013: Diane Turner in Criminal Minds