Michelle Trachtenberg was not interested in wading into the legal waters surrounding her Gossip Girl costar Blake Lively in the weeks before her death.
Us Weekly confirmed on Wednesday, February 26, that Trachtenberg was found dead inside her Midtown West Side apartment. She was 39 years old.
On January 16, Trachtenberg posted a picture of herself via Instagram wearing sunglasses and posing with her arms crossed. “It takes a lot of strength to see through all the b*llshit. And some dark sunglasses. 
#newyork,” the actress captioned the photo.
In the comments, an Instagram account called xoxoposhipgirl — a celebrity fashion and style source run by a woman named Audrey Long — posed a request to Trachtenberg.
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“Would love to see you release a statement on the Blake drama 
Or idk if this is a direct statement? Hahaha you’re so fabulous,” the comment read.
Trachtenberg responded, “@xoxoposhipgirl gosh. Im busy worrying about real world news and families who have no home anymore from the LA fires. But you do you. 
.”
Long was attempting to coax a statement from Trachtenberg about the ongoing legal feud between Lively, 37, and Justin Baldoni. Lively and Baldoni, 41, have exchanged a myriad of lawsuits back-and-forth, all stemming from their work together on the 2024 film It Ends With Us.
Trachtenberg’s post came on the same day Baldoni sued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation. Lively’s lawyers called the lawsuit “desperate,” which came weeks after Lively filed her own lawsuit against Baldoni on December 20, 2024, accusing him of “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on the set of It Ends With Us. Baldoni denied the allegations.
Lively and Trachtenberg starred as Serena van der Woodsen and Georgina Sparks, respectively, on Gossip Girl, which ran on The CW for 6 seasons from 2007 to 2012.
Trachtenberg’s death was confirmed on Wednesday by a representative of the late actress.
“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Tractenberg has passed away,” the statement read, which was obtained by Us. “The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”
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Police sources told Us that Trachtenberg’s cause of death is “not yet apparent,” but the incident is not believed to be suspicious.
Trachtenberg’s former Gossip Girl costar Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass, posted about the actress’ passing via his Instagram Story.
“So sad to hear of the passing of @michelletrachtenberg,” Westwick, 37, wrote on Wednesday alongside a photo of Trachtenberg from the series. “Sending prayers.”
In addition to her work on Gossip Girl, Trachtenberg was known for her roles on TV’s Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and in movies like 1996’s Harriet the Spy, 2004’s Eurotrip and 2005’s Ice Princess.
