Penn Badgley: Michelle Trachtenberg’s death is “Surreal”

Penn Badgley (38) commented on the death of Michelle Trachtenberg (1985-2025), with which he once stood in front of the camera for the successful series “Gossip Girl”. A few months ago, the sad news became public. She was just 39 years old.

At the premiere of the fifth and final season of his Netflix series “You”, the actor now comments on the death of his former colleague. “It’s surreal. Really surreal, really sad,” says Badgley on the red carpet. “I remember her because she laughed incredibly quickly. She was really happy,” added the 38-year-old.

At the same time, Badgley admits that he haven’t seen Trachtenberg “for over a decade”, but emphasizes that she had had a “really pure heart”.

As reported, among other things, citing the police, Michelle Trachtenberg died on February 26 at the age of only 39. Her mother had found her in her apartment near Central Park. Shortly after her death, reports about the health problems of the actress – according to various media – Trachtenberg recently received a liver transplant, which might have occurred.

“She was really, really sick and spoke openly with her closest circle about how much she had to fight,” said an insider at the time. The actress was “pale, exhausted, very thin and healthy and health problems”. It was only about two months later that New York forensic medicine confirmed that Trachtenberg died of complications related to diabetes mellitus.

Michelle Trachtenberg was primarily known for her roles as Georgina Sparks in “Gossip Girl” and Dawn Summers in “Buffy – under the spell of the demons”. Most recently, in 2023 she was seen again as Georgina Sparks in the “Gossip Girl” reboot.