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More than two months after Michelle Trachtenberg\u2019s death<\/a> at age 39, we\u2019re starting to get clarity on what caused it. According to lab results from the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Trachtenberg died from complications of diabetes mellitus, as reported by Deadline<\/a>. Her manner of death was subsequently ruled natural, per People<\/em><\/a>. (Vanity Fair<\/em> has also reached out to reps for Trachtenberg and the medical examiner\u2019s office for confirmation.)<\/p>\n Trachtenberg, best known for her roles in \u201890s and early 2000s projects like Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/em>, Gossip Girl<\/em>, Ice Princess<\/em>, and Harriet the Spy<\/em>, was found dead on the morning of February 26 in her New York City apartment, a spokesperson for the NYPD previously confirmed to VF<\/em>. Criminality was not suspected in her death.<\/p>\n The following day, ABC News<\/a> reported that Trachtenberg\u2019s cause of death would remain undetermined because her family had requested that no autopsy be conducted for religious reasons. Because no foul play was suspected, the medical examiner\u2019s office did not overrule the family\u2019s decision, instead limiting their scope<\/a> to an external examination and lab testing.<\/p>\n According to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>, diabetes mellitus refers to a \u201cgroup of diseases that affect how the body uses blood sugar\u201d or glucose\u2014the brain\u2019s central source of fuel and energy for cells in the human body.<\/p>\n Sources close to Trachtenberg told Us Weekly<\/em><\/a> that the actress had undergone a liver transplant and suffered multiple health ailments. \u201cShe had back issues, and then bone problems and she also fell a few times,\u201d a friend told the publication. Trachtenberg, who used a cane on a 2019 red carpet<\/a>, was \u201cthrown a lot of curveballs with her health,\u201d a source said, \u201cbut she did her best not to let it get her down.\u201d<\/p>\n The New York native\u2019s final onscreen role was a reprisal of her villainous Georgina for two episodes of the short-lived Gossip Girl<\/em> reboot<\/a> on Max. In the final year of her life, Trachtenberg\u2019s social media presence raised concerns among those who noted an apparent change in her physicality. \u201cI\u2019ve received several comments recently about my appearance,\u201d she wrote in a January 2024 Instagram post<\/a>. \u201cI have never had plastic surgery I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters.\u201d<\/p>\n Former co-stars and friends, including Rosie O\u2019Donnell<\/strong><\/a>, Blake Lively<\/strong><\/a>, Sarah Michelle Gellar<\/strong><\/a>, and Princess Eugenie<\/strong><\/a> paid tribute to Trachtenberg after her death. Director Casey Tebo<\/strong> has said on X<\/a> he\u2019s \u201cdoing everything I can\u201d to get a script written by Trachtenberg made, calling it \u201cone of the best screenplays I\u2019ve ever read.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n