Former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Jaqueline Laurita shared a video on her Instagram story along with a sweet tribute for Michelle Trachtenberg.
The New York Post reported on February 26 that Trachtenberg has died at 39. Multiple other outlets have since confirmed the news.
Trachtenberg starred in NBC’s show “Mercy” in 2009, playing Chloe Payne, a nursing graduate who started working at the fictional Mercy Hospital in New Jersey. During an episode that aired in November 2009, Laurita and Teresa Giudice went up against Trachtenberg’s character with a heated interaction at a fictional bar.
Laurita’s daughter, Ashley, first shared a video of a BravoTV interview done with Trachtenberg, Laurita, and Giudice, who talked about the guest appearance. Laurita reposted the video with a sweet message.
“I’m so sorry to hear the news about Michelle Trachtenberg. I really enjoyed working with her on Mercy. She was very sweet!,” Laurita wrote on her Instagram story.
Guidice reposted the video and message on her Instagram story as well.
In the video from 2009, Trachtenberg spoke about how this all came together and what it was like to work with Laurita and Giudice.
“The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and they’re pretty spectacular, and how can you not? We’re set in New Jersey, we talk about New Jersey all the time. We have to have the housewives on,” Trachtenberg said.
And it turns out the idea was actually hers.
“When I read the scene and I knew that, basically in the description it was like, ‘oh, we have Real Housewives-types of New Jersey,'” Trachtenberg continued. “And I called our creator, Liz Heldens, and I was like, ‘Lady, let’s talk. You can’t have Real Housewives-types. If you’re going to do that you might as well have the Real Housewives. So I was spearheading that campaign.”
Michelle Trachtenberg Died Of Natural Causes
Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for The Art of Elysium
The New York Post reported that Trachtenberg was found by her mother on the morning of February 26 in her apartment in New York. They added that she underwent a liver transplant in the last year, and is said to have died of natural causes.
According to the outlet, the police said that her death was “not deemed suspicious.”
Michelle Trachtenberg‘s ‘Gossip Girl’ Co-Stars Posts Tributes
Following the news of her death, many of Trachtenberg’s former co-stars posted tributes. And that included Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass in “Gossip Girl.”
“So sad to hear of the passing of @michelletrachtenberg sending prayers 🙏🏻🤍,” Westwick wrote.
Blake Lively, who played Serena van der Woodsen, also posted a long tribute.
“This is the first day I met Michelle. She was electricity. You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. 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 was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself. And she always had yummy caramel smelling lipgloss on because she didn’t just want to sparkle on camera, she liked creating a nice experience for anyone who was in her orbit, even down to the subtle smell of her lipgloss because she cared about the sweet details,” Lively wrote.
“She was a kind person, through and through.”
“Time passes. You take for granted that you get the chance to see an old friend. To paraphrase, the real tragedies in life are the ones that blindside you on an idle Tuesday,” she continued.
“Hold those you love and have loved dear. The world lost a deeply sensitive and good person in Michelle. May her work and her huge heart be remembered by those who were lucky enough to experience her fire.”
Trachtenberg first appeared on “Gossip Girl” in 2008, and continued to make appearances in a recurring role of Georgina Sparks.
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