Michelle Christine Trachtenberg was born in October 11, 1985 in New York City to Michael, an ATT field engineer, and Lana, an actress and puppeteer. She and her older sister, Irene were raised in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. Trachtenberg's first television appearances were on a number of commercials and advertisements and her first credited role was on The Adventures of Pete & Pete, where she played Nona Mecklenberg. Consecutively, she appeared on the soap opera, All My Children, as Lily Montgomery and it was here that she first met Sarah Michelle Gellar, whom she would later work with again. Trachtenberg also appeared on films such as Harriet the Spy, Can't Be Heaven, and Inspector Gadget. She also took the lead in the Walt Disney Pictures production, Ice Princess. In 2000, she was cast for a role she is best known for, as Dawn Summers in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which stars Sarah Michelle Gellar. Trachtenberg’s role is that of Buffy’s sister, who has powers beyond anyone’s imagination. Dawn Summers can create a green ball of energy and open dimension portals to all universes. She serves as the Key, and was sent to Buffy to be protected from the hell-god Glory.

After Buffy, Michelle Trachtenberg starred in films like Eurotrip, a comedy movie directed by Jeff Schaffer. She next played the spoiled pop star Celeste in HBO’s Six Feet Under. She also had a cameo in the Fall Out Boy music video for “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” with Buffy co-star Seth Green. Trachtenberg was next cast on the ABC pilot comedy The Hill, where she plays the lead role. In 2008, she portrayed the character Georgina Sparks in the CW hit series Gossip Girl, alongside Blake Lively and Leighton Meester. It was based on a popular novel series by Cecily von Ziegesar.



(Photo courtesy of WB)