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"I can't imagine what 40 would have been like. This I know… it would be filled with love," Gellar wrote of her Buffy the Vampire Slayer "sister," alongside an emotional clip from the show.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is honoring late Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star, Michelle Trachtenberg, on her first birthday after she passed away in February.
On Saturday, which would have been Trachtenberg's 40th birthday, Gellar -- who played Trachtenberg's older sister on Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- posted a touching tribute to her late co-star on Instagram. The actress shared an emotional clip from the supernatural drama that featured her titular character, Buffy, and her sister Dawn (Trachtenberg) hugging, with the short clip being set to Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again."
"When you turned 16, it was hard not to still see you as the little girl I met on All My Children. When you turned 21, I had to teach myself to not see you as the little sister anymore," Gellar, 48, wrote. "I can't imagine what 40 would have been like."
"This I know… it would be filled with love. Happy birthday @michelletrachtenberg," she concluded.
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Trachtenberg died on February 26 at the age of 39. Police sources confirmed to TMZ at the time that Trachtenberg was found unconscious inside her New York City apartment, and pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement sources told the outlet that the Gossip Girl actress had received a liver transplant recently, and that her body may have rejected the transplant, causing complications.
Trachtenberg's representative later addressed the news in a statement to TMZ, requesting privacy as Trachtenberg's family processes this difficult loss.
"It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time," the statement read.
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Following the sad news, Gellar -- who first met Trachtenberg in the 90s on the set of All My Children -- took to social media to pay tribute.
Alongside photos of the herself and Trachtenberg from Buffy, and shots of them together in real life in the years since, Gellar wrote, "Michelle, 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… for you”
💔💔💔🗝️."
The quote references something Buffy told Trachtenberg's character, Dawn, before sacrificing herself to save her sister in the Season 5 finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "The Gift." The tribute also included a photo of Gellar and Trachtenberg with Shannen Doherty, who died from cancer in 2024.
In April, it was revealed that Trachtenberg died from "complications of diabetes mellitus," according to TMZ, citing the New York City medical examiner.
