It’s been one year since the world lost Michelle Trachtenberg, who passed away on February 26, 2025, at the age of 39. In honor of the late star, her former on-screen sister, Sarah Michelle Gellar, has shared a touching tribute to Trachtenberg.
“I’m not sure how it’s been a year,” Gellar wrote in the caption of her Instagram post. “I’m one of the lucky ones who has over 30 years of memories with you.”
“From our first day on set together, to less than a year later, when you were already taller than me,” Gellar continued. “But I first worked with [you] on All My Children. I watched you become a star with Harriet [the Spy]. You were great to my kids. Countless kids bdays you attended even though I’m sure you had somewhere cooler to be.”
The star finished her message by writing, “But most of all, when I think of you, that smile that took up your entire face and brought so much joy to others is what comes to mind. You may not have been with us long enough, but we will make sure everyone remembers.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar & Michelle Trachtenberg Said Goodbye on ‘Buffy’
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fans will surely remember Trachtenberg’s character; however, for those who have yet to watch the beloved show, the actress “joined Buffy as Dawn Summers, the kid sister to Gellar’s Buffy Summers, in season 5,” People noted. “Her existence in the show was explained by her being a mystical ‘key’ put into a human body and sent to the Slayer for protection against the evil god Glory (Clare Kramer).”
People also explained that Trachtenberg “stayed on the show through its finale in 2003,” but Gellar’s character, Buffy, “sacrificed herself in the season 5 finale — and told her sister, ‘Dawn, the hardest thing in the world is to live in it. Be brave. Live — for me.'”
Sarah Michelle Gellar Also Posted a Tribute to Michelle Trachtenberg After She Passed
When Trachtenberg passed away in February 2025, Gellar took to Instagram to share a tribute to the younger star that included photos of the pair together.
In the caption, Gellar added a message that referenced the heartwrenching line from “Buffy” that her character had shared with her on-screen sister, but adjusted it for her friend, writing, “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 💔💔💔🗝️”
