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Whether you know her for Harriet the Spy , Buffet, the Vampire Slayer , Gossip Girl , or any number of other projects, Michelle Trachtenberg was one of the “it girls” of the early 2000s. And when the star passed away in late February 2025, many fans wondered if Michelle Trachtenberg had an illness that she never disclosed.

The actress was 39 years old at the time of her death. Although an immediate cause of death was not given publicly, her change in appearance in the years leading up to her death and some Instagram posts and captions led her followers and fans to show concern for her on social media. But did she have an illness before her passing?
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Michelle Trachtenberg’s fans believe she had an illness before she died.

According to The New York Post , Michelle was found dead in her apartment on Central Park South on Feb. 26, 2025. Although she never revealed publicly that she had been diagnosed with a mental or physical illness prior to her death, there was a lot of speculation on social media, given her apparent change in appearance over the years.

In 2024, someone on Reddit made a post about Michelle and the changes they noticed in her face, which included, at the time, apparent sunken cheeks and thinning hair.

Someone commented on the thread, “I’m not trying to be mean but she doesn’t look well and I hope she gets the help she needs.”


Another user wrote, “Cirrhosis usually leads to yellow eyes, muscle atrophy, thinning hair, and a whole slew of awful things. It could also explain why her lines in the revival seemed so oddly spoken. If your ammonia levels are high, then your speech is slurred and/or stilted.”

Sources told ABC News that Michelle had recently undergone a liver transplant and may have had complications from that. But she never went public with her health struggles.

In fact, she seemingly responded to her critics in an Instagram caption in January 2024 with: “I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance. I have never had plastic surgery. I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters.”