Michelle Trachtenberg

Even though actress Michelle Trachtenberg is a young 37-years old, she’s been acting for over three decades. An early start got her prepared for what was eventually to come, but we haven’t seen her on screen since 2018. What has she been up to in those four years away from the screen and are we starting to hear “Gossip” about a possible return?

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG IS ON INSTAGRAM

Michelle Trachtenberg enjoys a solid social media presence. She is active on both Twitter and Instagram, updating her followers whenever she gets the chance. It was one of her last postings on Instagram that raised eyebrows and hopes.

The picture she posted shows an intense Michelle Trachtenberg dressed in black, to match her hair, carrying a handbag, looking like she is ready to do some damage. The caption she included told her fans exactly what was going down.

She said: “You can tell Jesus: She’s baaaaaack…..” she then included #xoxo and #gossipgirl. Does this mean she is once again lacing up her Georgina Sparks clothing? It would appear so, which means season 2 of the rebooted Gossip Girls is going to sizzle.

SHE STARTED BY ACTING IN COMMERCIALS AND THEN LAW & ORDER

It all began with commercials. Michelle Trachtenberg got her first official screen time in a Wisk laundry detergent commercial and didn’t look back. It wasn’t a bad way to break in as she then went on to star in over 100 commercials.

The first major role she pulled in, other than her commercials, was at six-years-old on an episode of Law & Order. She moved on to an episode of Clarissa Explains It All, then found herself in a couple of episodes of the long-running soap opera All My Children.

Liking what they saw of the young actress, the producers of The Adventures of Pete & Pete brought her on board. But the young actress was beginning to get more attention and eventually had to leave Pete & Pete to star in her very first feature film, Harriet the Spy as the film’s heroine Harriet.

Michelle Trachtenberg appeared in several other series before leading the short-lived Meego. It lasted one season but continued to show that Trachtenberg had the chops to lead a series or a feature film.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG WAS CAST IN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

Michelle Trachtenberg joined the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2000, coming on board as Buffy’s younger sister Dawn. The intent was to give Buffy a more rounded emotional attachment other than her romantic relationships.

Dawn’s presence did just that though many Buffy fans didn’t care much for her character. Perhaps it was the way Dawn basically appeared out of nowhere. Perhaps it was her annoying personality. Whatever the reason, fans didn’t take much to the character, not Michelle Trachtenberg herself, even though as the character grew and her annoyance tempered, fans still never fully got on board with her.

SHE TOOK A ROLE IN EUROTRIP

Michelle Trachtenberg moved on from Buffy, as the series ended in 2003, to a raunchy feature EuroTrip (guilty pleasure). She also appeared in HBO’s Six Feet Under, Disney’s Ice Princess, the unbelievably horrible remake of Black Christmas (the 1974 original remains a horror classic), and she voiced Tika in Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, to name a few of her early projects. Speaking of Twilight…

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG ALMOST STARRED IN TWILIGHT

Michelle Trachtenberg as Bella Swan in Twilight? Seriously? Yes, according to the actress. She told US Weekly, “There was definitely interest here and there because there’s only so few pale girls in Hollywood.”

Perhaps she was joking about the “pale” part. But she continued on, “I’ve known [director] Catherine Hardwicke since the movie Thirteen,” she explained. “I was actually supposed to star in that, but I was on Buffy at the time.”

So then, why didn’t she get the part? “I guess schedules never worked out.” The actress didn’t seem to be totally broken up about the fact that she missed out on a billion-dollar franchise and not starring opposite Robert Pattinson, “[Hypothetical answers mean] you’re not living in the moment and you’re looking negatively at what you’re doing now.” Besides, “I already have Buffy,” she added. “I’ve already done the vampire thing.”

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG WAS ON GOSSIP GIRL

Michelle Trachtenberg continued to move forward with her career. She was seen in the comedy 17 Again and moved on to TV series such as Mercy and Weeds. But it was her role in Gossip Girl as Georgina Sparks that brought her more recognition. She was recurring the first four seasons she appeared in the show and then pretty much was a full participant in the Gossip Girl’s final season.

Trachtenberg continued to find roles in other TV series such as Criminal Minds, NCIS Los Angeles, Sleepy Hollow, and Guidance. She has also been a voice in the animated series Robot Chicken. Speaking of animated series, the last bit of work she did came on the 2018 show Human Kind Of.

Although Michelle Trachtenberg did pivot away from feature films and television, she didn’t completely walk away from Hollywood. In 2021, Michelle found herself both in front and behind the camera as host and executive producer of the series Meet, Marry, Murder Hosted by Michelle Trachtenberg. The series told true stories of dozens of tragic marriages that ended in murder.