Today is the first anniversary of Michelle Trachtenberg’s death, and Sarah Michelle Gellar marked the passage of time with a loving tribute to her friend and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” co-star.
“I’m not sure how it’s been a year. I’m one of the lucky ones who has over 30 years of memories with you,” Gellar wrote on Instagram, alongside a carousel of photos from the course of their friendship. “From our first day on set together, to less than a year later, when you were already taller than me.”
Trachtenberg, 39, was found dead on Feb. 26, 2025, in New York City. The New York City chief medical examiner later announced that the actress died naturally as a result of complications from diabetes. She had been dealing with health problems prior to her death, and had received a liver transplant months earlier.
In her post Thursday, Gellar noted that she first worked with Trachenberg on the ABC soap opera “All My Children,” and that 1996 film “Harriet the Spy” made Trachtenberg “a star.” The pair would go on to play sisters on “Buffy.”
She also recalled how Trachtenberg was “great to my kids. Countless kids bdays you attended even though I’m sure you had somewhere cooler to be.”
She added that the younger actress’ smile “took up your entire face and brought so much joy to others,” and “You may not have been with us long enough, but we will make sure everyone remembers.”
In addition to “Buffy,” Trachtenberg’s acting career included roles on “Gossip Girl” and its HBO Max reboot, “Law & Order,” “Clarissa Explains It All,” “Six Feet Under,” “Mercy,” “Weeds,” “Sleepy Hollow,” and “Criminal Minds.”
At the time of Trachtenberg’s death, Gellar posted photos of them together with a caption that invoked Buffy’s words to Trachtenberg’s Dawn at a key point in the series: “‘Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.'”
