Sarah Michelle Gellar Mourns Michelle Trachtenberg’s Death: “I Will Always Love You”

The news of Michelle Trachtenberg's death at age 39 remains a shock to those who watched her career flourish. Her death has also affected many who worked alongside her in some of her memorable roles.

Among the outpour of tributes for Michelle was a heartfelt post from her friend and Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Here's how Sarah honored her TV sister online.

On Feb. 27, 2025, the day after Michelle's death was confirmed to the public, Sarah expressed her grief for her friend and co-star via Instagram. The actor shared several photos of them together as their Buffy characters, off-screen moments like Michelle playing with one of Sarah and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s children, and multiple photos of them with their Buffy co-star, Seth Green. She ended the post with another photo of her, Michelle, and Shannen Doherty, who died of cancer in July 2024.

"Michelle, listen to me,'" Sarah wrote to her friend. "'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."'

Sarah and Michelle connected when the Harriet the Spy star booked her breakout TV role on Buffy as Sarah's character's sister, Dawn Summers. She stayed on the show until it ended in 2003 after seven seasons. Years after the show ended, Michelle and Sarah's friendship continued to flourish. In one of the actor's final Instagram posts, she posted a throwback photo of them wearing matching denim jackets at an event.

"Slay all day!" Michelle captioned the Jan. 22 post. "Always loved this twinning photo of us!"

In addition to Sarah's post, the former child star received tributes from her Buffy co-stars Alyson Hannigan and James Marsters. Michelle was found dead in her home by her mother, Lana, on Feb. 26.