Michelle Trachtenberg‘s official cause and manner of death will remain undetermined, according to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The family of the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star objected to having an autopsy performed on the actor— their right under the law — for religious reasons.
“[A]bsent any suspicion of criminality around the circumstances of the death, the medical examiner will honor the objection,” a spokesperson for the office said Friday in a statement to The Times.
When that occurs, the investigation might be limited to an external examination.
Trachtenberg, the child of immigrants who grew up in Brooklyn speaking English and Russian, is said to have been of Jewish faith in which autopsies are generally not performed because bodies are believed to be sacred and should not be tampered with after death.
The “Gossip Girl” star was found unresponsive by her mother Wednesday in her New York City apartment and was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 39. Trachtenberg recently underwent a liver transplant and might have been experiencing complications, ABC News reported.
“The family requests privacy for their loss,” Trachtenberg’s representative, Gary Mantoosh, said in a statement to the Associated Press.
TMZ reported that Trachtenberg’s mother last saw her daughter alive late Tuesday and that Trachtenberg didn’t seem to be having health issues.
The actor had sparked concern among fans on social media over the past few years after her appearance in photos seemed altered. Trachtenberg hit back in January 2024 saying that she was “happy and healthy” and had never had plastic surgery, but was simply aging.
“Fun fact. This is my face,” she captioned another post that month. “Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have to hate? Get a calendar.”
Actors who worked with the “Harriet the Spy” and “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” star paid tribute to her on social media, expressing shock over her untimely death. “Gossip Girl” alum Blake Lively described her former on-screen nemesis as “electricity.”
“You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200%,” the embattled “This Ends With Us” star wrote on Instagram stories. “She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself.”
“Buffy” star Sarah Michelle Gellar shared a series of photos of Trachtenberg with a poignant “Buffy” quote tailored to her late co-star and on-screen younger sister.
“Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you,” Gellar wrote, also sharing a photo of them with her late friend and “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Shannen Doherty.
Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz and James Marsters also penned emotional tributes to their longtime colleague who starred in several seasons of the prime-time cult classic. Actor Nicholas Brendon, who also was a member of “Buffy’s” Scooby Gang, also sparked concern when he responded to a commenter during a live stream, saying, “she was a kid…it’s just tragic. I didn’t know anything was going on.”
Photographer and friend Amanda de Cadenet hinted at a health issue in her tribute to Trachtenberg.
“I will always remember you as the young vivacious woman I met when I took this photo of you …,” De Cadenet wrote in the caption of a post that has been amended, according to People. “Seeing your face from the hospital bed when we FaceTimed recently, even though you did not look like you, your sweetness and humor were still alive.”
“I will not share the details of our conversations over the last 6 months. But you knew that death was a high possibility,” she wrote in the original post.
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