Penn Badgley Remembers ‘Gossip Girl’ Costar Michelle Trachtenberg as ‘Really Joyous’

Penn Badgley hadn’t crossed paths with former Gossip Girl costar Michelle Trachtenberg in over a decade by the time of her death this February, but he has fond memories of her warm personality.

“What I remember of her is she was incredibly quick to laugh,” the You star told E! News in a recent interview. “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. She [had a] really pure heart.”

Trachtenberg appeared in more than two dozen episodes of The CW’s Gossip Girl, playing the scheming Upper East Sider Georgina Sparks, who had a fling with Badgley’s Dan Humphrey on the teen drama. She later reprised the role in two episodes of Max’s Gossip Girl reboot in what would become her last onscreen acting role.

In his interview, Badgley also reflected on Trachtenberg’s death. “It’s surreal,” he said. “I can’t claim to have known her well, but yeah, really surreal, really saddening.”

Trachtenberg died at age 39 on February 26 at her home in New York City. Earlier this month, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office stated that the actor died from complications of diabetes mellitus, with her manner of death determined to be natural, according to People.

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Following her passing, many of Trachtenberg’s former costars shared their recollections of her on social media. “She was electricity,” Gossip Girl star Blake Lively. “You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200%.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar, meanwhile, paraphrased dialogue from an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, on which Trachtenberg played Dawn Summers, the younger sister of Gellar’s title character. “Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you,” Gellar wrote. “The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.”

And Buffy costar James Marsters wrote, “My heart is heavy today. We have lost a beautiful soul. Michelle was fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny, and a very talented person. She died much too young, and leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her.”