The death of anyone is a heartbreaking event, but when it is a young death, it is even more so upsetting. Michelle Trachtenberg, who was a much beloved Hollywood actress left this earth much too early.
You might remember her for one of her many roles as she had joined the industry when she was incredibly young. And in her personal life, she had finally found love.
Keep reading to learn more about Michelle Trachtenberg’s last love.
Michelle Trachtenberg was known for the various roles she played. From playing Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl to Harriet Welsch in Harriet The Spy; she was well known among audiences of all ages.
She was found unresponsive on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 in her New York residence according to sources. She was found by her mother near 8AM local time.
While her cause of death is unknown for now, it is said that she had a liver transplant recently after she had battled alcohol issues and she might have been experiencing complications as a result of it.
For now, Daily Mail reported that police do not suspect any foul play. ‘On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at approximately 0801 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an aided individual at 1 Columbus Place, within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct,’ police said in a statement they issued.
‘Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased.
‘Criminality is not suspected. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing,’ Michelle’s team said of her death after confirming it in a statement.
‘It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time,’ her representative said.
With all the success possible in her personal life, she also had a wonderful personal life, having found love with talent agent Jay Cohen. She was first linked to Cohen in 2020 after the couple publicly posted about one another on their social media.
Jay is partner and head of film finance and distribution at The Gersh Agency, one of Hollywood’s oldest and largest talent agencies with offices in Los Angeles so the two were in the same industry. He moved to Los Angeles after a career on Wall Street. In L.A. he entered a three-year partnership with Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman.
He founded the company, Cosmic Entertainment, alongside Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson. His producing credits include a wide array of successes such as Swimming With Sharks, Two for the Money, and Bride Wars.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Michelle had been signed to The Gersh Agency back in 2014.
And at the time it was revealed that she had been dating an agent from the agency for a year. And another insider had revealed that Michelle had indeed been Jay’s client.
According to his social media, Jay has two daughters, Lili and Rachel. He shared pictures of his daughter Lili’s wedding in November 2023. ‘My youngest Lili and Lyndsay now married. I gained a new beautiful sweet loving daughter in my family,’ he wrote in the caption.
One of Michelle’s last posts on Instagram was a loving Instagram post for Jay in honor of Valentine’s Day. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day to the man who sits still long enough for me to paint his face,’ she wrote in the post.
She often posted pictures of them together. One of those is from Halloween as the couple is dressed in costumes. Jay is dressed as Frankenstein, while Michelle is dressed up as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
For his birthday, she wrote a sweet post, which said, ‘Happy Birthday to the man who puts up with me @jaymcohen,’ she wrote, adding a bunch of emojis as well.
In 2023, Jay also posted a mirror selfie of the pair and captioned it simply, ‘My valentine.’
In 2021, Michelle and Jay spent Fourth of July together, and he posted a sweet selfie of them with the caption, ‘#Fireworks are every day with this one!!’
In recent times, fans seemed to be concerned about the actress and her health as she seemed to look gaunt in some of her posts. She however, dismissed all speculation and wrote, ‘Fun fact. This is my face. Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have [to] hate? Get a calendar.’
In a comment on a selfie, a fan asked her if she was sick and she replied, writing, ‘@cathy_critz explain to me how I look sick. Did you lose a calendar and not realize I’m not 14? I’m 38. How sad for you to leave such a comment.’
She posted another selfie the next day and wrote, ‘I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance. I have never had plastic surgery. I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters.’
Michelle began her acting career when she was incredibly young at just three years old. Her first show was with the Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which ran from 1994 to 1996.
She was well known for her role as Dawn Summers, who was Buffy’s little sister in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. She was also known for playing Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl for a few years.
She reprised her role in 2023 two episodes of the second (and final) season of HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot.
Her death comes as a huge shock to her family, friends, and fans. We are sending everyone mourning her loss our condolences. Share this with others so they can learn more about the actress in her last few years.
