Photo by Albert L. Ortega/WireImage
Perhaps a word you could use to describe Michelle Trachtenberg‘s vast filmography is bold. The New York City-native and actress — who tragically died on Tuesday, February 26, due to complications with a recent liver transplant, per TMZ — built a lasting name for herself through the often sharp-witted, outspoken, and unforgettable characters she played on era-defining shows like Gossip Girl and Buffy. Her seasons-long arc as Georgina, the seductive Gossip Girl villain that everyone loved and loved to hate, shaped a generation of sneaky and well-dressed boy-stealers. While her early breakout role in Harriet the Spy taught many other young people the importance of following your own beat.
The movie I remember her the most clearly in is Ice Princess, in which she played a young teen who endured punishing practices and a demanding mom to see to her dream of becoming a figure skater. There was something in the determination and grit she brought to the role, which she effortlessly balanced with an elegance, that stuck with me growing up — and it turns out that was something that seeped into her actual character. In the wake of her passing, her former co-stars have echoed as much; Blake Lively paid tribute to her by describing her as a “fiercely loyal” friend who “faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong.”
Trachtenberg rarely ever got to be the star, but she made her countless roles feel just as big and as much, anyway, a testament to her magnetism and genuine screen-grabbing energy. Below, we revisit 6 of her most iconic movie and TV show appearances from Buffy to Gossip Girl, to her often overlooked stint as a naughty pop star on Six Feet Under.
Gossip Girl
Michelle Trachtenberg as Georgina Sparks was essentially a perpetually raised eyebrow. She was introduced in season one as the Upper East Side’s resident bad girl who’d returned from boarding school and was ready to fuck up her peers’ lives. Over the seasons, she had dalliances with pretty much every single one of the guys, and made enemies with all of the girls, but there was something about Trachtenberg’s perpetually scheming Georgina that was kinda endearing? Essential? Maybe the audience was meant to root against her, but Trachtenberg’s Georgina became a fan-favorite. “Tell Jesus that the bitch is back,” is a line that will live on forever.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
A lot of people hated Trachtenberg’s character when she first came on Buffy as Dawn Summer, the younger sister to the show’s titular character. Trachtenberg was 14 when she took the role, but she played her like a 10-year-old often throwing bratty and annoying tantrums on screen. As years have past, she’s been re-evaluated to be one of the show’s most tragic characters, and Trachtenberg’s intense portrayal plays a large part.
Six Feet Under
Michelle Trachtenberg only appears for a handful of episodes in the third season of Six Feet Under, but I was invested when I revisited the series a few years ago. She played Celeste, a spoiled teen pop star who’s on a trajectory that might’ve looked like Miley Cyrus if things went bad. She yaps on her flip phone, huffs around, bosses one of the characters, a police officer named Keith, around, and then shockingly sleeps with him (shocking because he’s gay). It’s not a major role but she plays Celeste with so much personality you kind of wish she was a recurring character.
Watch Six Feet Under on Netflix, MAX, and Hulu.
Ice Princess
Watching Trachtenberg in this movie made me, and probably thousands of other girls out there, want to be a figure skater. She plays an introverted brainiac who one day decides she wants to pursue her dream of becoming a figure skater. Joan Cusack plays her hard-to-please mother, Kim Cattrall her coach. There’s a love story and an emotional arc — your classic YA bildungsroman that nails the formula perfectly.
Watch Ice Princess on Disney+.
Harriet The Spy
Trachtenberg was just 10 when she broke out with Harriet The Spy. She played its titular character with spunk, carrying around her magnifying glass and wreaking havoc in her town in her signature yellow coat. For a film for kids, it explored pretty complicated themes like depression, alienation, and what goes on in a young girl’s inner life. It’s surprisingly a dark film, but Trachtenberg’s performance stood out to critics, and is perhaps its most enduring legacy.
Watch Harriet The Spy on PlutoTV.
