Trachtenberg played young socialite Georgina Sparks of Manhattan’s Upper East Side who created havoc throughout the show, blackmailing Serena van der Woodsen (Lively), among other schemes, and previously said she knew a lot of people from the Upper East Side in her 20s, who were “very similar to the Gossip Girl characters and involved in that world”.
Tributes have come flooding in from fellow Gossip Girl stars including Blake Lively as well as members of the cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer How I Met Your Mother actress Alyson Hannigan, who played the witch Willow Rosenberg, and James Marsters, who played British vampire Spike.
Trachtenberg joined the fifth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer as supernatural fighter Buffy Summers’ (Gellar) sister Dawn Summers, who is created with magic as part of that series’ storyline.
Emma Caulfield, who starred as former demon Anya Jenkins in Buffy, said the cast had “lost a little sister” in a post shared to her Instagram story, while Hannigan said she “brought a loving energy to the set” of the supernatural drama.
Trachtenberg, also known for Gossip Girl, was confirmed dead at the age of 39 after emergency medical services arrived at One Columbus Place, New York, following a call at about 8am on Wednesday, the city’s police department said.
