Considering she started her acting career at just 11 years old, there are many Michelle Trachtenberg movies and TV shows one could watch to get a sense of the star’s undeniable screen presence. But there are only four that—especially to women of a certain age—will stand out as the most culturally impactful: Harriet the Spy, Ice Princess, Gossip Girl, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For many, Trachtenberg’s characters, and her portrayal of them, were not just iconic and memorable—they inspired a generation of young women to be more daring, more bold, and maybe even more fearsome.
Read moreMichelle Trachtenberg Has Died at Age 39
She is remembered especially fondly by fans who grew up alongside her.
Her costars have echoed this in the hours following the news of Trachtenberg’s tragic death at 39, as they took to social media to share their shock and devastation. “Heartbreaking,” wrote Rosie O’Donnell, who starred alongside Trachtenberg in 1996’s Harriet the Spy. “I loved her very much.” Her Ice Princess costar Kim Cattrall wrote, “Rest in peace sweet Michelle.”
Tonight, turn on one of these Michelle Trachtenberg movies and TV shows as a tribute to the late star.
Harriet the Spy
When I was a book-obsessed and slightly nosy seven-year-old, there was no cooler role model than Harriet Welsch. Harriet was a different type of girl character. She was messy yet bold, fearless yet emotional, and didn’t care about expressing what she thought, even if it got her in trouble.
When I read the book, I was captivated by Harriet and her world. She lived in far away New York City in an apartment that had fancy-sounding things like a dumbwaiter, ate exotic treats like “egg creams” and “tomato sandwiches,” and had free rein to explore (in hindsight, the Welsch parents must have been rich AF). But, like me, she was obsessed with writing, constantly observing the world around her in ways that many kids did not. Even though my life in Southern California was far away from hers, she felt the same.
I remember so distinctly going to see the 1996 film adaptation of the book, starring Michelle Trachtenberg, who truly brought Harriet to life. Girls needed a role model like her, and Michelle instantly gave the character more realness and depth. My grandma had taken me to see the movie at a strip mall, and afterward we went over to the neighboring Barnes & Noble where she bought me not just a new copy of the book with Michelle’s face on it but my own notebook to spy with. I can’t wait to show my own daughter the film one day, and to show her such an iconic character to aspire to through her own girlhood. —Stephanie McNeal, senior editor
Gossip Girl
Every time Michelle Trachtenberg strolled on to the screen as Georgina Sparks, it was electrifying. The character, first introduced to us as an old frenemy of Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen, only exists as a chaos agent and, oh, what chaos she wreaks. In season one alone she: drugs Serena (causing her to miss the SATs), befriends Dan and Vanessa under a false identity, bribes Serena with a revenge-porn video, seduces Dan to get back at Serena, and eventually is sent away to a boot camp for troubled teen girls. TL;DR: when Georgina Sparks showed up, you knew things were about to get wild.
In another actor’s hands, the character would have been too much, too cheesy, too unbelievable. But Trachtenberg handled every extreme storyline with sharp wit, a gleeful twinkle in her eye, pitch-perfect delivery, and a sense of groundedness that kept the viewer wanting more. Not every actor could pull off the line “You can tell Jesus that the bitch is back.”
Trachtenberg’s performance of a character as messy yet iconic as Sparks played a large part in what made Gossip Girl a success—and she’s why so many of us, myself included, return to the series year after year. —Anna Moeslein, deputy editor
Ice Princess
When you first lay your eyes on Michelle Trachtenberg as Casey Carlyle in Ice Princess, it’s hard not to fall in love with her and the character. A physics nerd with Ivy League ambitions, Casey blows off steam by ice skating on the frozen lake near her home. When she skates she looks graceful and confident, happy and free—before the bubble gets popped by her mother Joan, played by Joan Cusack. Time’s up, Casey! Get back to studying.
Ice Princess has all the classic tropes of a coming-of-age film: brainiac who has a controlling parent and defies the expectations of everyone by pursuing her love for skating. It’s easy for a role like this to feel contrived and corny, but Trachtenberg brings the perfect amount of endearing awkwardness and wide-eyed innocence to make Casey utterly charming. You root for her as she storms out of a Harvard scholarship interview and cheer when she finally declares to her mother, “No, mom! I’m giving up your dream!” before convincing her disgraced coach, Tina, played by Kim Cattrall, to train her for sectionals.
To watch Casey effectively throw away everything in pursuit of a dream—and still root for her? Not to mention, hold her own opposite Cusack and Cattrall? It takes one hell of an actor. A huge part of Trachtenberg’s legacy is her immense talent, yes, but it will also be the film’s main lesson: Life has more to offer than the path of least resistance—but only if you dare to find out. —Ariana Yaptangco, senior beauty editor
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Michelle Trachtenberg’s Dawn Summers was not immediately beloved when she first appeared in season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fans found her annoying, whiny, and frequently—and inconveniently—in need of saving. But she introduced a dynamic that only enriched the show for the better, thanks in large part to Trachtenberg’s refusal to portray her as anything other than what she was: a teenager.
In Buffy, the supernatural is a metaphor for normal teenage life, and just when Buffy was on the brink of becoming more superhuman than human, Dawn enters to drag her back down to earth, and the show back to its roots. As the rest of the Scooby Gang grows up, Dawn is the one still dealing with the harsh realities of adolescence, with feelings of inadequacy and being overlooked. Nowhere is this more poignant than in season six’s “Once More With Feeling.” Dawn acts out in a typically teenage way—stealing from the store—and accidentally summons a demon that turns the whole episode into a musical. And what could be more quintessentially Buffy than that? —Kathleen Walsh, contributor
Read moreEd Westwick, Melissa Joan Hart, and More Stars Remember Michelle Trachtenberg After Her Death
“I’m heartbroken,” shared Melissa Joan Hart.
By Glamour
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