Michelle Trachtenberg started acting when she was barely out of diapers — so her fans have watched her grow up onscreen. From her breakout role in "Harriet the Spy" to her big return to "Gossip Girl," Trachtenberg's transformation has truly been a sight to see.
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00:00Michelle Trachtenberg started acting when she was barely out of diapers,
00:04so her fans have watched her grow up on screen.
00:07From her breakout role in Harriet the Spy to her big return to Gossip Girl,
00:12Trachtenberg's transformation has truly been a sight to see.
00:17In an age where nepo babies dominate the entertainment industry,
00:20it's easy to forget that some actors did indeed start their careers organically.
00:25Case in point, Michelle Trachtenberg.
00:28The New York City native wasn't born into Hollywood royalty.
00:31In fact, she came from humble beginnings.
00:34Trachtenberg hails from an immigrant family.
00:37As a child, she learned to speak Russian, her mother's native language.
00:41While speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Trachtenberg said this about her mother,
00:46She was able to give me some insight into being in a working-class Russian family
00:50and what they had to do to feed their children.
00:53When Trachtenberg decided to pursue acting as a child,
00:56she received full support from her family.
00:59She told HuffPost Live,
01:00I was raised in a very loving and strict way.
01:04Most three-year-olds are busy potty training and learning their ABCs,
01:08but Trachtenberg had entirely different goals at that age.
01:12The actor told the Orange County Register,
01:15I saw a friend of mine in a commercial and walked over to my mom and said,
01:18Mommy, I want to be on TV.
01:20By age four, she'd nabbed her first on-screen gig, a commercial for whisk laundry detergent.
01:26Over the next few years, she starred in more than 100 television ads.
01:31After achieving small-time success, Trachtenberg started auditioning for larger roles.
01:36Her first notable acting credit came in 1991,
01:39when she landed a small role in the hit drama Law & Order.
01:43Over the next few years, Trachtenberg appeared in popular shows like Clarissa Explains It All.
01:49In 1994, the rising superstar landed a recurring role in Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete and
01:54Pete. In 1996, the Nickelodeon Network branched out and produced its first feature film.
02:01Their inaugural movie, Harriet the Spy, focused on a precocious sixth-grader
02:06with a habit of snooping on her friends and neighbors.
02:09As the project unfolded, producers began searching for someone to play the main character,
02:14Harriet Welsh. Soon, they found their leading lady.
02:18Trachtenberg was only 10 when she landed the role of Harriet,
02:21but her skills impressed the film's producers.
02:24A Nickelodeon executive told the Orange County Register in 1996,
02:28"[She is simply a great actress. We looked at 350 girls,
02:32but there was no question in our minds that Michelle was the right girl for the job."
02:37I still have the striped t-shirt that I auditioned with in a memory box."
02:43Trachtenberg prepared for the role by tapping into her real-life experiences
02:47as a rubble-rousing kid. She told the Orange County Register,
02:51"[I read those books, upon which the movie is based, when I was still in the fourth grade,
02:55and one of the things I loved about Harriet was her spying. But that isn't the only thing I have
03:00in common with Harriet, though. I also dress like her, and I love tomato sandwiches."
03:05The film was a runaway success, and Trachtenberg quickly rose to international stardom.
03:11After her whirlwind rise to fame in Harriet the Spy,
03:14Trachtenberg shifted gears to focus on her education.
03:17She enrolled in a private school in Los Angeles, but her classmates weren't exactly welcoming.
03:22In a heartbreaking Instagram post, Trachtenberg reflected on the years
03:26of bullying that she endured as a child. Trachtenberg recalled how, on Valentine's
03:31Day, she was the only child in class who didn't receive a card. She wrote in the post,
03:36"'No one ever gave me one, and they thought I didn't need the attention.
03:40The kids and staff all laughed and thought everyone else should get one.
03:43Being an actress since I was three, apparently, I didn't need one. The kids were cruel."
03:49Speaking with New York Magazine in 2008, Trachtenberg revealed that her high school
03:53classmates mocked her role in Harriet the Spy and referred to her as Harriet rather than by name.
03:59Nevertheless, she tried her best to tune out the bullies. She explained,
04:03"'I'm like, dude, that means you watched it,
04:05like you saw it. So actually, who's like the loser calling out Harriet?'
04:09Ultimately, Trachtenberg doesn't harbor any regrets about her childhood years,
04:13and she's learned to disregard the naysayers. The actor proclaimed,
04:18"'I think it's appreciation of where I am, and rising above. I know that's really weird,
04:23but it's sort of like a Phoenix thing if everyone tries to burn you down,
04:26you're still going to rise above it.'"
04:28"'I'm an advocate against, you know, harassment and hazing in schools.'"
04:33In 1997, Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered,
04:37starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as the lead character. The show became an instant cult
04:41classic. Trachtenberg joined the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2000 as Buffy's younger
04:47sister, Dawn Summers. From the beginning, fans were completely divided over Dawn.
04:52While some viewers immediately embraced the character, others found her insufferable.
04:57Some worried that by adding Dawn, the show might start to lose its flair.
05:01Trachtenberg was well aware of Dawn's contested place in the Buffyverse.
05:05In 2017, the actor shared her thoughts on the Dawn debate, telling Entertainment Weekly,
05:10"'Most of the haters don't have the guts to say things in person.
05:14I still get comments like, oh my god, I think Dawn is so annoying. I get it. It's fine.'"
05:20Trachtenberg confirmed that she has a soft spot for the misunderstood character, confessing,
05:25"'It used to be a 60-40 I hate Dawn. Then it became 50-50.
05:29Now I think it's 60-40 being supportive of Dawn, maybe even 70-30.'"
05:34Looking back, Trachtenberg felt that Dawn's behavior in the series was totally justified.
05:39After all, the character was a teenager. She said,
05:42"'I rarely get the, oh, she ruined the show. I do get a lot of, oh, she was so whiny.
05:47Hi, were you a teenager? Oh, you were docile, sitting in the corner,
05:50doe-eyed and happy to be there? No.'"
05:53When Trachtenberg entered the spotlight, she was a 10-year-old spitfire.
05:57But as child actors do, she grew up quickly. Thanks to her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
06:02Trachtenberg went from child star to bona fide teen idol. But growing up in the public eye
06:08isn't always easy, especially when your physical transformation is on display for the world to see.
06:13As a young celebrity, Trachtenberg couldn't escape comments about her changing looks,
06:18let alone avoid the male gaze. She told Complex in 2010,
06:23"'I heard that there were Trachtenberg to 18 counters.
06:27Even at the time I was like, you're never gonna get a chance, so what's your counter for?'
06:32In 2004, Trachtenberg leaned into her teen heartthrob status by stripping down to a bikini
06:37for the film EuroTrip. Reflecting on the iconic scene, Trachtenberg admitted that the experience
06:42made her slightly uncomfortable, telling Entertainment Weekly,
06:46"'The premise of the scene is that all these gawky, nasty old men have chased away all these
06:50hot, beautiful, European, sexy women from the nude beach, and I flop up in this big,
06:55sloppy sweatshirt and take it off.'"
06:58In 2005, Trachtenberg played another iconic character when she starred in Disney's Ice
07:03Princess. This time, she portrayed Casey Carlyle, a shy teen who discovers her passion for figure
07:09skating. To play the role with credibility, Trachtenberg had to learn the art of figure
07:14skating and not just the basics. Speaking with Black Film in 2005, the actor dished about her
07:20incredibly demanding training schedule. She told the outlet,
07:24"'When we weren't shooting, I was working, training five hours a day,
07:28five days a week. And I had ballet every other day, was constantly on the ice.
07:32And then when we were shooting, I was working seven days a week.'"
07:36During the process, she sustained some torn ligaments and a dislocated knee.
07:41By the end of filming, Trachtenberg had developed the body of an athlete.
07:45She told Black Film,
07:46"'Oh yeah, I had killer thighs, just like rock hard. I don't exercise at all, and I know that
07:51sounds really evil, but I just don't like physical activity. So training for this movie was just quite
07:56an experience.'"
07:58Not only was she in great shape, but she learned to pull some pretty advanced moves on the ice.
08:02She said to Entertainment Weekly,
08:05"'My coach said that if I was to continue ice skating after the movie finishes,
08:08I could go on to compete. But I will not be quitting acting anytime soon,
08:13certainly not for ice skating.'"
08:15Trachtenberg is best known for her iconic film roles in the 90s and 2000s,
08:20but her entertainment career is much more robust than that. In addition to being an accomplished
08:25actor, Trachtenberg has writing credits. She's even a member of the Writers Guild of America.
08:30Trachtenberg has also earned a few producer credits,
08:33and in 2021, she embarked on a new project that combined all of her skills.
08:39She hosted and executive produced a true crime docuseries on the Tubi network called
08:43Meet Mary Murder. As its name suggests, the show focused on infamous cases of murderers
08:49who targeted their spouses. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Trachtenberg revealed
08:54some interesting tidbits about the show. She said,
08:57"'I host, I narrated it. We filmed it during the COVID, and basically what I want people to know
09:02is that we are honoring the memories and lives of the people lost, and I would absolutely love
09:07people to be watching it on Tubi, because I myself am an extreme true crime fan."
09:13"'Meet Mary Murder' is something I am extremely proud of."
09:17In 2008, Trachtenberg joined the Gossip Girl cast. She played the villainous Georgina Sparks
09:23for six seasons until Gossip Girl was canceled in 2012. A decade later, fans got the treat of
09:28a lifetime when HBO Max announced its plans to bring Gossip Girl back for a reboot. The
09:34revived show featured a whole new ensemble of Manhattan elites, plus some of the original cast.
09:39In 2022, Trachtenberg returned to the series to reprise her role as the conniving Georgina.
09:46Speaking with PopSugar in 2022, creator Joshua Safran revealed that Georgina's return would be
09:52a central plot point on the show. He explained,
09:55"'I always knew I wanted Michelle to come back, and Michelle and I stayed in touch over the years.
10:00We waited until season two so by the time she arrives, everybody is at the highest place for
10:05themselves to fall and all she cares about is anarchy.'"
10:09The new generation of Gossip Girl actors couldn't wait to welcome Trachtenberg to the set.
10:14Zion Marino, who played Luna Law in the reboot, told PopSugar,
10:18"'She's an icon. I loved her in the OG series, and it was an honor to get to work with her.
10:23She's a hoot for sure, and there's never a dull moment around her. It was a little nerve-wracking
10:28because you want to make her proud, but she was just really, really nice and wonderful."
10:33As a lifelong public figure, Trachtenberg is no stranger to unwelcome comments about her appearance.
10:39But even so, she hasn't let the criticism get her down. On Instagram, Trachtenberg is
10:44transparent about her life and frequently posts personal updates. Unfortunately, one of those
10:49updates backfired in January 2024 when the actor posted a selfie on Instagram that generated some
10:55harsh commentary. In the snapshot, Trachtenberg looked noticeably different from previous years.
11:01While most of the comments were positive, some followers expressed concern about her appearance.
11:06One wrote,
11:07"'Not a hater by any means. The whites of your eyes look very yellow. Please see a doctor.'"
11:12Another person also chimed in about her appearance, writing,
11:15"'Something's going on here. The yellow eyes, dry cracked lips, thinning hair.
11:19Poor girl is not doing well.'"
11:21It wasn't long before Trachtenberg addressed the concerned commenters.
11:25A few hours after the first post, she uploaded another selfie on Instagram and wrote,
11:30"'I've received several comments recently about my appearance.
11:34I have never had plastic surgery and I am happy and healthy. Check yourselves, haters!'
11:39"'There's no thinking of the repercussions of your actions and how what you say really can hurt a person.'"
11:44And Trachtenberg didn't stop there. Several days later,
11:47the actor shared another selfie with a new message.
11:50This time, she alluded to her age as the cause of her altered appearance, writing,
11:55"'Fun fact, this is my face, not malnutrition.'
11:58"'Why do you have to hate? Get a calendar!''