Rosie O’Donnell is mourning the loss of her Harriet the Spy costar Michelle Trachtenberg.
Following the news of Trachtenberg’s death at age 39 on Wednesday, Feb. 26, O’Donnell said in a statement that hearing what happened was “heartbreaking.”
“I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped,” she added.
O’Donnell, 62, starred alongside Trachtenberg in 1996’s Harriet the Spy, which was released when Trachtenberg was just 10 years old and marked her big-screen acting debut.
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The New York Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday that officials responded to a 911 call at 1 Columbus Place in New York City around 8 a.m.
“Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased,” police said, adding, “Criminality is not suspected.”
The investigation remains ongoing. The New York Post was first to report on her death.
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Trachtenberg is best known for her roles as Dawn Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl. She got her start in commercials before landing her roles on Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete and on All My Children.
Following her big breakout in Harriet the Spy, she also had several other prominent roles across film and TV over the years, including in EuroTrip, 17 Again and Ice Princess. Trachtenberg’s last credited role was in 2023, reprising Georgina on Max’s Gossip Girl reboot.
The actress’s final Instagram post was seven days ago, where she shared a throwback of herself wanting to “look like naughty #tinkerbell.”
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