Following Michelle Trachtenberg‘s death at age 39, Sarah Michelle Gellar is keeping her onscreen sister’s memory alive on her posthumous milestone birthday.
The Golden Globe nominee, who played Trachtenberg’s sister in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, recalled meeting years before the WB show as she paid tribute to the late actress for what would be her 40th birthday on Saturday.
“When you turned 16, it was hard not to still see you as the little girl I met on All My Children,” started Gellar on Instagram. “When you turned 21, I had to teach myself to not see you as the little sister anymore. I can’t imagine what 40 would have been like. This I know… it would be filled with love. Happy birthday @michelletrachtenberg”
Trachtenberg died at 39 on Wednesday, Feb. 26, when she was found unresponsive in her midtown Manhattan apartment. She died naturally as a result of complications from diabetes mellitus.
A child actor since age 3, Trachtenberg joined the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Season 5 in 2000, playing the Slayer’s younger sister Dawn Summers. Following her mysterious introduction, the show reveals her to be a celestial key disguised as the Slayer’s sister to keep her safe from evil.
Following Trachtenberg’s death, Gellar paid tribute with the words Buffy tells Dawn just before sacrificing her own life to protect her sister in the 2001 Season 5 finale ‘The Gift’. “Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you,” she wrote on Instagram.
Originally running for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is in production for Hulu, with Gellar returning as star and executive producer. Chloé Zhao is directing the pilot, written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman.
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