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"It's devastating," the actress said while remembering Trachtenberg, who died in February at 39.
Leighton Meester is breaking her silence on the tragic passing of her Gossip Girl co-star, Michelle Trachtenberg.
While speaking with Flaunt for the magazine's latest cover story, the actress remembered her late co-star, who passed away in February at 39 years old.
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Penn Badgley Reacts To The Death of Gossip Girl Costar Michelle Trachtenberg: 'Surreal'
View Story"It's devastating," Meester said of Trachtenberg after the outlet noted that she's the same age as her former co-star was when she passed. "She was a wonderful, talented person, and everyone loved her. It's very, very sad for everyone who knew her."
"Now, I can see that [the show's legacy] continues -- in some ways, even more so than back then -- to live on, which is incredible," she added.
Meester starred as Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007 to 2012 on the CW. Trachtenberg appeared as fan-favorite character Georgina Sparks on the series, starring in nearly 30 episodes. She also made a guest appearance in three episodes of the Gossip Girl revival.
Trachtenberg's passing came as a shock to Hollywood. She was just 39 years old when she was found dead in her apartment. It has since been confirmed by the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that she passed away due to complications from diabetes mellitus. Her death was ruled as natural.
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Meester's comments about Trachtenberg come just a few weeks after fellow Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley opened up about her death while walking the red carpet for the premiere of You last month.
"What I remember of her is she was incredibly quick to laugh," he told E! News.
"She was really joyous. We all have our ups and downs, our lights and shadows, but she had this -- I mean, she was mature, but she had this childlike, joyous laugh."
While Badgley hadn't seen the late actress in "over a decade," he said her passing feels "surreal."
"Really surreal, really saddening," he said before adding that she had a "really pure heart."
Not long after Trachtenberg's shocking passing was confirmed, fellow celebrities and former co-stars began paying tribute to the late actress.
Blake Lively, who starred in Gossip Girl alongside the late TV and film star, shared a photo of them from their first day working together to Instagram, saying, "She was electricity."
"Everything she did, she did 200%. She laughed the fullest at someone's joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes," she continued, before sharing, "Time passes. You take for granted that you get the chance to see an old friend."
"The real tragedies in life are the ones that blindside you on an idle Tuesday," said Lively, telling others to hold their loved ones close.
