Michelle Trachtenberg, star of the teen drama series “Gossip Girl” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” has died at 39 years old, the New York Police Department confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday. She was found at her home in Manhattan, and the death is not believed to be suspicious, police said.
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The NYPD said officers responded to a 911 call at 8:01 a.m. local time Wednesday morning to an apartment in midtown Manhattan, where they found the actress unconscious and unresponsive.
“Criminality is not suspected. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death,” the police statement said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
Trachtenberg, a child actor who grew up in Brooklyn, appeared in her first commercials at age 3, according to the movie database IMDb. She starred in “Harriet the Spy” and landed the plum role of Buffy’s younger sister, Dawn, in the hit series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in 2000. She wasn’t yet 18 years old.
She went on to star in the hit series “Gossip Girl,” and appeared in various other series and television movies including “House” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
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contributed to this report.
