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Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg's cause of death may continue to be a mystery as her family refused an autopsy. The actress was pronounced dead at the scene on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, after police and emergency medical personnel responded to a 911 call about a person having cardiac arrest.
Officers, however, found her already "unconscious and unresponsive" when they arrived at her home at 1 Columbus Place in New York on Wednesday morning. The New York Police Department didn't suspect any criminality in Michelle Trachtenberg's death.
While it has been previously reported that an investigation about the cause of her death is ongoing, the Medical Examiner's Office said, according to People, that her family has objected to an autopsy.
As families can decline autopsies if there is no evidence of foul play, Michelle Trachtenberg's cause of death is being ruled as "undetermined." And because of her family's objection, the medical examiner was only allowed to do an external exam of the Gossip Girl star's body.
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Michelle Trachtenberg previously addressed fan concerns about her well-being
According to ABC News, sources mentioned that Michelle Trachtenberg previously had a liver transplant and may have been experiencing complications from it. People also reported, citing a source, that the Gossip Girl actress had been "really really down emotionally" in the past year and even told her friends that "she was struggling." The same source told the outlet:
"She was really, really sick and open with those in her circle about how much she was struggling. [She was] pale, gaunt, very thin, and dealing with health issues."
Moreover, her Harriet the Spy co-star, Rosie O'Donnell, shared a tribute to Trachtenberg via People referencing the same, saying that "she struggled the last few years."
While she never addressed any health issues publicly, Michelle Trachtenberg previously slammed comments online about her appearance and well-being. In an Instagram post in January 2024, she responded to criticisms about how she looked. Alongside a selfie, she wrote:
"Fun fact: This is my face. Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have to hate? Get a calendar."
In a following Instagram post, she wrote in the caption about receiving several comments about her appearance. She set the records straight again and said that she "never had plastic surgery" and that she is "happy and healthy."
She also shared a selfie with Spy Kids star Alexa PenaVega in January last year and one fan commented about how she looked sick and asked if she was okay. The actress responded to the comment, per NBC New York, saying:
"Explain to me how I look sick. Did you lose a calendar and not realize I'm not 14. I'm 38. How sad for you to leave such a comment."
The commenter then replied that they meant no disrespect in the initial comment and that it had nothing to do with the actress' age. They also mentioned that she looked pale and sick in the picture but apologized if they had offended Trachtenberg.
Michelle Trachtenberg famously played Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the socialite Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl.
