Michelle Trachtenberg Has Died: Here Are Her Most Iconic Parts

Beauty on the screen and millennial icon, Michelle Trachtenberg, has passed away at the age of 39. Her legacy will live on in her best on screen moments, especially for Millennials who grew up with work. 

Here are her top most memorable characters: 

Georgina Sparks, Gossip Girl 

There was no character in the entire series who better fit the title Gossip Girl than Trachtenberg’s Georgina Sparks. Georgina was a loveable villain who seduces the leading men, runs many maniacal schemes and ultimately becomes a Russian mob wife before it was even cool. She wasn’t the main character but she was the “main character.” 

Harriet Welsch in Harriet the Spy

Remember when Rosie O’Donnell was almost kind of normal? Hard to recall. But she did star alongside a young Michelle Trachtenberg who played pre-teen detective/spy Harriet Welsch in the very popular Nickelodeon produced movie, Harriet the Spy. Trachtenberg captured the hearts of America’s nosey preteens as she kept careful records of her friends and neighbors while dealing with the difference between facts and truth. It was before its time. 

Diane Turner, Criminal Minds

Despite only being on Criminal Minds for only one episode, Trachtenberg left a major mark on the franchise. She played a deeply disturbed stalker, Diane Turner, who is obsessed with ‘Maeve’ who is the romantic interest of leading character, Spencer Reid played by Grant Gubler. In a series of twists and turns leading to a very dark and dramatic finale, Trachtenberg’s Diane murders Maeve and kills herself as Reid pleads with her to spare Maeve’s life. Reid is forever changed by this event and it impacts the show going forward. A single episode character who basically redefined the tone of the series.

Casey Carlye, Ice Princess

Ice Princess is an absolutely iconic(ally bad) movie about a science girly who gives up going to Harvard to become a professional ice skater coached by a fictional version of Tanya Harding (Tina Hardwood) played by Kim Cattralll. Michelle Trachtenberg stars as a doe eyed nerd who goes from bookish to beautiful on her journey through science to be the best ice skater of them all. Featuring an unreasonably good performance from Joan Cusak as Casey’s mom, Hayden Panetierre in her teen queen glory and the music of Aly and AJ, frankly Ice Princess is a slept-on Millennial cultural offering. 

Dawn Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Michelle Trachtenberg brought Dawn Summers to live as one of the more complicated characters in the Buffy universe. Dawn spawned into life from magic but is a human and biological sister to Buffy – its very confusing and Trachtenberg’s Dawn was often confused about it. She serves as both Buffy’s helpmate and largest liability through the series after she’s introduced including everything from suicide attempts to black magic. She brought a lot of drama to a series that was already about vampires. 

Maggie, 17 Again

17 Again stars Matthew Perry and Zach Effron as the 37 and 17 year-old versions of Mike O’Donnell. As Mike’s life and marriage start to fall apart because he can’t let go of his High School glory, Mike is magically transformed into his 17 year-old self to relive it. Michelle Trachtenberg plays Mike’s daughter, Maggie who provides ample comic relief as she develops a crush on her 17-year-old father because he talks her out of rushing into physical relationships with other boys. Its campy, ridiculous, and kind of great. 

Jenny, Europtrip 

Eurotrip is the kind of movie that could only have been made in the early millennium. Trachtenberg plays Jenny, a fairly common archetype of female character at this time in history who serves as the hot girl token for the rowdy boys to have antics around. She looks great, she participates in some jokes, she makes out with her brother. Very normal ‘00s’ stuff. And yet, very important in the preservation of cultural cinema during that time period. Other characters that are part of this important historical tapestry include: Allison Hannigan in American Pie, Elisha Cuthbert in Girl Next Door, and Tara Reid in Van Wilder.