Michelle Trachtenberg Shares Cryptic Throwback Photos in Final Posts Ahead of Her Death at 39

Mar. 15, 2025

For her final posts on social media,Michelle Trachtenbergshared a series of throwback photos.

TheGossip Girlactress wasfound deadin New York City on Wednesday, Feb. 26, exactly one week after she shared her last Instagram post in what is now her final message to fans.

Trachtenberg, who was known to share frequent selfies and messages with her 800,000 Instagram followers, made her finalposton the platform on Feb. 19, sharing a cropped-in photo of herself in a green gown at the L.A. premiere of her 2013 film,Killing Kennedy.

Michelle Trachtenberg at the 2013 premiere of ‘Killing Kennedy’.Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic

Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic

Alongside the photo, which was cropped to show just her face, the formerBuffy the Vampire Slayerstar wrote, “I wanted to look like naughty #tinkerbell 💚 #throwback ⚡️.”

Prior to the final Instagram post, Trachtenberg also shared several other old photos of herself, along with her typical short captions, on the platform.

Michelle Trachtenberg in 2020.Randy Shropshire/Getty

Randy Shropshire/Getty

“A memory, a magical night in #newyork,” she captioned the post. “I remember feeling like Cinderella! Wishing everyone an ethereal weekend 💖 #throwback ⚡️.”

Trachtenberg also shared several posts on Feb. 14, including a blurryphotoof herself, captioned “Happy #valentines day 💋🔥💘,” and a tribute to her boyfriend,Jay Cohen. Alongside a photo of the couple all glammed up for Halloween, the late actresswrote, “Happy Valentine’s Day to the man who sits still long enough for me to paint his face. 🖤💚🩶 💋.”

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Trachtenberg was found dead in an apartment at 1 Columbus Place in New York City on Feb. 26, the New York Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE.

The investigation into her death remains ongoing. New York City’s Medical Examiner told PEOPLE there is no additional information to share at this time. TheNew York Postwas first to report.

Along with her roles in movies likeEuroTrip,17 Again,Mysterious Skinand Ice Princess, the star was best known for her roles as Georgina Sparks onGossip Girland Dawn Summers onBuffy the Vampire Slayer, the latter of which she nodded to in another one of her final Instagram posts.

On Jan. 22, the starsharedanother throwback photo, this time a photo of her withSarah Michelle Gellar, who played her on-screen sister inBuffy. “Slay all day!” she captioned the post. “Always loved this twinning photo of us! #buffy #dawn 🤪 #sister #womancrushwednesday @sarahmgellar 💙💙💋.”

source: people.com