New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (CME) announced that actress Michelle Trachtenberg’s manner of death was natural, saying she died of complications from diabetes.
The medical examiner said in an email to NTD on April 16 that it had amended the cause and manner of death after reviewing laboratory test results.
Trachtenberg was found “unconscious and unresponsive” by her mother in her luxury Manhattan apartment on the Upper West Side at about 8 a.m. on Feb. 26.
The 39-year-old’s family declined to have an autopsy performed on her remains, and because there was no evidence of criminality, the medical examiner’s office said it honored the request.
Johns Hopkins Medicine defines diabetes mellitus (commonly referred to as diabetes) as a dysfunction of the hormone called insulin, which metabolizes sugar in eaten food and converts it into glucose to fuel the body.
The “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl” star was unmarried and not known to have any children.
“Buffy” co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar was among Trachtenberg’s friends who paid tribute on social media following news of her death.
Acting Career
Trachtenberg’s IMDB biography shows that she launched her acting career in television commercials at just three years old and subsequently on the Nickelodeon sitcom “The Adventures of Pete & Pete ” from 1994 to 1996.She then starred in the title role in the film adaptations of “Harriet the Spy” and “Inspector Gadget,” opposite Matthew Broderick.
In 2000, Trachtenberg joined the cast of “Buffy,” playing Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the title character played by Gellar between 2000 and 2003.
She went on to also appear in episodes of “Law & Order,” “Clarissa Explains It All,” “All My Children,” and recurring roles on “Six Feet Under,” “Weeds” and “Gossip Girl.”
She was born to Lana and Michael Trachtenberg in New York City on Oct. 11, 1985.
