Rosie O’Donnell opened up about the death of her “Harriet the Spy” costar Michelle Trachtenberg.
O’Donnell, 64, said the actress, who died at 39, had been privately struggling with addiction as her health declined. She said they stayed in touch only intermittently as Trachtenberg’s condition worsened.
“She got into drugs and alcohol, I believe, and then I lost touch with her,” O’Donnell said in an interview with Variety. “In the last few years, when she was in pretty bad shape, she would call me and we would talk.”
She said they attempted to meet several times but Trachtenberg never followed through. “We were supposed to see each other three or four times, and she just never showed up … She was not in good shape.”
O’Donnell recalled moments when Trachtenberg missed plans they had made.
“Sometimes at restaurants, other times at my house where we’d had someone prepare the whole meal,” O’Donnell said. “I would call her and go, ‘Honey, are you heading over?’ and she’d go, ‘Was that today?’ She was not in good shape.”
O’Donnell said she didn’t expect the situation to become fatal.
“I didn’t think that she would die,” she said, adding that addiction often blindsides loved ones. “With most people suffering from addiction, their loved ones think that they’ll survive it, but you can die from your addiction … and it happens too often.”
She also reflected on Trachtenberg’s early talent and close family ties.
“She was a real genius child … connected and right there,” O’Donnell said. “She was so close to her mother, Lana, and her sister, who’s a ballerina. They were a very loving family.”
O’Donnell said Trachtenberg’s decline reminded her of other high‑profile struggles, comparing it to Whitney Houston’s years‑long battle with addiction that ultimately contributed to her death following an accidental drowning in 2012.
“It reminded me of Whitney Houston where everyone knew what was going on, but no one was willing to say something,” she added.
Trachtenberg, known for “Harriet the Spy,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl,” died earlier this year at age 39 after being found in her Manhattan apartment. Months before her death, she had responded to fans’ concerns about her appearance on social media, telling followers she was “happy and healthy.”
The medical examiner later determined Trachtenberg died of natural causes from complications of diabetes mellitus. The office said it was able to make the determination following laboratory tests.
O’Donnell said Trachtenberg had become increasingly unreachable in her final years, noting her own family has faced similar challenges.
“Addiction has hit my family, too. I have a daughter who’s addicted,” she said. “It’s very serious and there are millions of families in America going through the same thing.
“I wish I could have done more. I tried to help her as much as I could, but she was inaccessible toward the end, and it was tragic.”
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