Michelle Trachtenberg Credited Her Mom for Teaching Her Russian and Supporting Her Career

Feb. 26, 2025, brought devastating news. Actor Michelle Trachtenberg was reported dead at age 39 after being discovered by her mother, The New York Post reports. Around 8 a.m., her mom arrived at her apartment at One Columbus Place — a towering 51-story building — where police found Michelle "unconscious and unresponsive." EMS workers later pronounced her dead at the scene.

Sources told The Post that Michelle had recently undergone a transplant and is believed to have died from natural causes.

Fans remember Michelle for her iconic roles, including Harriet in Harriet the Spy, Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl, Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and her part in 17 Again alongside the late Matthew Perry. But while her acting career is well-documented, her family remains more of a mystery. Here’s what we know about her parents.

Michelle Trachtenberg, born on Oct. 11, 1985, was the daughter of Michael and Lana Trachtenberg. Her father, Michael, was reportedly from Germany, while her mother, Lana, was born in Russia.

In a 2005 interview with Radio Free Entertainment, Michelle credited her mom for teaching her Russian, a skill that later helped land her a major TV role. "My background is Russian. My mom was actually born in Russia, so I would always hear it around the house," she explained. "And that was the only way I could communicate with my grandparents." At the time, she noted she was pretty fluent in the language.

Her Russian-speaking abilities proved especially useful when she portrayed Marina Oswald, the wife of JFK’s assassin, in Killing Kennedy (2013), starring alongside Rob Lowe and Ginnifer Goodwin.

Speaking to Fox News in 2015, Michelle recalled, "Before I’d signed on to it, [the script] was predominantly all in Russian." Though some English was later added, she leaned on her mom — who acted as her translator — to break down the entire script. Michelle also shared that her mother helped her grasp unfamiliar Russian vocabulary, especially terms related to guns and violence for the role.

While Michelle’s mom often played a hands-on role in her life and career, less is known about her father. According to the Daily Mail, Michael was living in a Brooklyn apartment, while Lana and Michelle’s sister, Irene, had relocated to Tarzana, Calif. It’s unclear if Lana was still living in California or if she and Michael were divorced at the time of Michelle’s death, though Lana was reportedly the one who found Michelle's body.

Despite occasionally keeping details about her parents private, Michelle’s gratitude for her mother’s support was undeniable.

In a 2020 Instagram post, she wrote, "I'm so very grateful for my 30+ year career, my mom, my sister."

The post continued, "As we get ready for Thanksgiving, and most can't be with their family or friends due to the global pandemic. My hope is that you can still find something to be grateful for. And perhaps: it's just being alive during these wild times."

Michelle’s remarkable career touched many, and she will be deeply missed by her family and fans alike.