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, Inspector Gadget and EuroTrip. She also took the lead in the Walt Disney Pictures production, Ice Princess. Her television appearances include Meego, Six Feet Under,
Law & Order: Criminal Intent and
House . 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.
Dawn Summers is played by Michelle Trachtenberg on the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dawn, who is Buffy’s sister, has powers beyond anyone's imagination as she is in actuality, a green ball of energy to whose mentally unstable, who can really see her real self. As the "Key," she can open a dimension portal to all universes, thus bringing chaos and destruction to the Earth. She was sent to Buffy, the Slayer, as a sister so that Buffy can protect her from Glory, a hell-god who wants to open up the dimension portals of the universe.
(Photo courtesy of WB)