(NEXSTAR) \u2013 Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of TV\u2019s \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer,\u201d shared a sweet message to her late co-star Michelle Trachtenberg on what would\u2019ve been the latter\u2019s 40th birthday.<\/p>\n
In the post, shared on Oct. 11, Gellar remembered her and her on-screen sister\u2019s relationship during their time on \u201cBuffy,\u201d after having appeared on the same soap opera as child actors years before.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you turned 16, it was hard not to still see you as the little girl I met on \u2018All My Children,\u2019\u201d Gellar wrote in the Instagram post.<\/a> \u201cWhen you turned 21, I had to teach myself to not see you as the little sister anymore. I can\u2019t imagine what 40 would have been like. This I know\u2026 it would be filled with love. Happy birthday\u00a0@michelletrachtenberg<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n A video accompanying the message contained a clip from \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d showing Gellar and Trachtenberg\u2019s characters embracing.<\/p>\n Actresses Michelle Trachtenberg and Sarah Michelle Gellar are pictured at the 25th Annual William S. Paley Television Festival on March 20, 2008, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff\/FilmMagic)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Michelle Trachtenberg, a cast member in the film \u201cKilling Kennedy,\u201d is photographed at the premiere of the film at the Saban Theatre on Monday, Nov. 4, 2013, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Chris Pizzello\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Michelle Trachtenberg appears at The Art of Elysium\u2019s Ninth annual Heaven Gala in Culver City, California, on Jan. 9, 2016. (Photo by Rich Fury\/Invision\/AP, File)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Trachenberg died at the age of 39 on Feb. 26, 2025, after being found unresponsive in her Manhattan apartment, Nexstar\u2019s WPIX<\/a> reported. Her cause of death was later determined to be complications from diabetes.<\/p>\n Trachtenberg had also undergone a liver transplant months before her death, ABC News<\/a> reported at the time.<\/p>\n Trachtenberg rose to fame as a child actress with roles in \u201cThe Adventures of Pete & Pete,\u201d \u201cHarriet the Spy\u201d and \u201cInspector Gadget,\u201d and later appeared in TV shows and movies including \u201cEuroTrip,\u201d \u201cGossip Girl\u201d and the final three seasons of \u201cBuffy.\u201d<\/p>\n As Gellar mentioned in her post, one of Trachtenberg\u2019s earliest TV roles was on \u201cAll My Children,\u201d appearing on the show several times in 1994.<\/a><\/p>\n Gellar, upon Trachtenberg\u2019s death in February, had reacted to the actress\u2019 passing in an Instagram post<\/a>\u00a0featuring several photos of she and Trachtenberg on- and off-set.<\/p>\n \u201cMichelle, 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 \u2026 for you,\u201d Gellar wrote, appearing to paraphrase lines of dialogue from \u201cBuffy.\u201d<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/i><\/p>\n For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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