Michelle Trachtenberg

Michelle Christine Trachtenberg (born October 11, 1985[1]) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the lead role of Harriet M. Welsch in Harriet the Spy, Nona F. Mecklenberg in The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Georgina Sparksin Gossip Girl.
== Early life and education ==
Trachtenberg was born in New York City,[2] the youngest of two daughters of Lana, a bank manager, and Michael Trachtenberg, a fiber-optics engineer.[3] Her father is German Jewish and her mother is Russian Jewish, and she is of the Jewish religion,[4] with her grandparents living in Israel.[5] She was raised with her older sister Irene in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, where she attended junior high school at The Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences.[6] She later attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.[7]
== Career ==
Trachtenberg made her first television appearance at the age of three, in a commercial for Wisk detergent.[8] She went on to feature in over 100 more commercials.[8] She appeared in her first credited role as Nona F. Mecklenberg on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete from 1994 until 1996. During the same period she played Lily Montgomery on the soap opera All My Children.[9][10]
Trachtenberg's film career began in 1996 with the title role in Harriet the Spy. During this time, she also began a recurring role in season two of the television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete, of which she later became a regular. She then starred in the short-lived television series Meego, which garnered her a Young Artist Award.[11] She returned to film in 1999 for Inspector Gadget. She also starred in the film Can't Be Heaven. In the summer of 2000, she took on the role of Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, remaining in the role until the show ended in 2003. She also hosted the Discovery Kids series Truth or Scarefrom 2001 to 2003.
After Buffy and Truth or Scare, Trachtenberg appeared in the comedy film EuroTrip. She also had a recurring role in the HBO series Six Feet Under as Celeste, a spoiled pop star for whom Keith Charles served as a bodyguard. In March 2005, she played the title character in Walt Disney Pictures' comedy sports drama Ice Princess. In the film, Trachtenberg played a science whiz named Casey Carlyle, who is torn between a future in academia and her newfound dream of being a professional figure skater.
In April 2006, Trachtenberg guest-starred in the episode of House, "Safe". She revealed on the December 22, 2006, episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brienthat House was her favorite show, and that she was friends with one of the producers and had asked to be a guest star.[12]
In November 2006, Trachtenberg guest starred in season six of the crime drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In the episode "Weeping Willow", she played the role of Willow, a kidnapped video blogger, likely based on lonelygirl15. Trachtenberg also appeared in the Fall Out Boy music video for "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", the Joaquin Phoenix-directed music video for "Tired of Being Sorry" by Ringside, and the video for the Trapt song "Echo".
In 2006, Trachtenberg starred in Black Christmas, the remake of the 1974 slasher of the same name. In 2007, she was cast as the female lead in an ABCcomedy pilot called The Hill, based on the newspaper of the same name in Washington, DC.[13] She provided the voice of Tika Waylan for Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, a direct-to-video animated film based on the novel of the same name.[14]
Trachtenberg appeared on The CW hit show Gossip Girl as Georgina Sparks, who recently left rehab and brings back the dark past Serena van der Woodsendesperately wants to leave behind.[15] She returned to the show for a multiple-episode story arc towards the end of season two.[16] Trachtenberg appeared in the season-three finale and in season four. She also appeared several times in season five, and in almost every episode of season six, the show's final season.[17] In 2009, Trachtenberg was a cast member on the NBC drama Mercy; the series lasted one season.
On June 9, 2011, Trachtenberg guest-starred on Love Bites as Jodie, who, after being unceremoniously dumped, decides – with a vengeance – to accept her ex's offer to "be friends". She reprised the role on June 16, 2011, and in the series finale on July 21, 2011. In the same year Trachtenberg was a guest-star on Weeds during its seventh season.[18], portraying Emma, a rival pot dealer who causes problems for Silas Botwin. In June 2012, Trachtenberg was cast in the film The Scribbler, produced by Gabriel Cowan.[19]
In the Criminal Minds episode "Zugzwang", Trachtenberg played Diane Turner, the criminal stalker to Spencer Reid's girlfriend, Maeve Donovan. She returned to film with the 2009 film 17 Again. She also had a small role in the comedy film Cop Out.[20] In March 2011, she was the featured cover girl in Maxim.[21]
In early April 2017, Trachtenberg explained to Entertainment Weekly the backlash her Buffy character Dawn received from fans over the years.[22]
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1995	Melissa 	Lena 	Uncredited
1996	Harriet the Spy 	Harriet M. Welsch 	
1998	Richie Rich's Christmas Wish 	Gloria 	Direct-to-video
1999	Inspector Gadget 	Penny 	
2000	Can't Be Heaven 	Julie 	
2004	EuroTrip 	Jenny 	
2004	Mysterious Skin 	Wendy 	
2005	Ice Princess 	Casey Carlyle 	
2006	Beautiful Ohio 	Sandra 	
2006	Black Christmas 	Melissa Kitt 	
2008	Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight	Tika (voice) 	Direct-to-video
2009	Against the Current 	Suzanne 	
2009	17 Again 	Margaret "Maggie" Sarah O'Donnell	
2010	Cop Out 	Ava Monroe 	
2010	DC Showcase: Jonah Hex 	Bar girl (voice) 	Short film
2011	Take Me Home Tonight 	Ashley 	
2013	Sexy Evil Genius 	Miranda Prague 	Direct-to-video
2014	The Scribbler 	Alice 	
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1991 	Law & Order 	Dinah Driscoll 	Episode: "God Bless the Child"; uncredited
1993 	Clarissa Explains It All 	Elsie Soaperstein 	Episode: "Babysitting"
1993–96	All My Children 	Lily Benton Montgomery #1 	Daytime drama
1994–96	The Adventures of Pete & Pete 	Nona F. Mecklenberg 	21 episodes
1996 	Dave's World 	Angela 	Episode: "Solitaire"
1996 	Space Cases 	Prankster #1 	Episode: "All You Can Eaty"
1996 	A Holiday for Love 	Noelle Murphy 	Television film
1997 	Meego 	Maggie Parker 	13 episodes
1998 	Blue's Clues 	Herself 	Episode: "Blue's Birthday"
1998 	Reading Rainbow 	Herself (voice) 	Episode: "Math Curse"
1998 	Guys Like Us 	Katie 	Episode: "Maestro's First Crush"
1998–99	Figure It Out 	Herself (panelist) 	12 episodes
2000 	A Father's Choice 	Kelly McClain 	Television film
2000–03	Buffy the Vampire Slayer 	Dawn Summers 	66 episodes
2001–03	Truth or Scare 	Herself (host and narrator)	20 episodes
2004 	Six Feet Under 	Celeste 	4 episodes
2005 	The Dive from Clausen's Pier 	Carrie Beal 	Television film
2006 	House 	Melinda Bardach 	Episode: "Safe"
2006–18	Robot Chicken 	Various voices 	6 episodes
2006 	Law & Order: Criminal Intent 	Lisa Willow Tyler 	Episode: "Weeping Willow"
2008–12	Gossip Girl 	Georgina Sparks 	28 episodes
2008 	The Circuit 	Kylie Shines 	Television film
2009–10	Mercy 	Chloe Payne 	22 episodes
2009 	The Super Hero Squad Show 	Valkyrie (voice) 	2 episodes
2011 	Love Bites 	Jodie 	3 episodes
2011 	Weeds 	Emma Karlin 	5 episodes
2013 	Criminal Minds 	Diane Turner 	Episode: "Zugzwang"
2013 	Killing Kennedy 	Marina Oswald 	Television film
2013 	NCIS: Los Angeles 	Lily Lockhart 	Episode: "Merry Evasion"
2015 	Sleepy Hollow 	Abigail Adams 	Episode: "Pittura Infamante"
2015 	SuperMansion 	Blood Moon (voice) 	Episode: "A Midsummer Night's Ream"
2015 	The Christmas Gift 	Megan 	Television film
2016 	Chopped Junior 	Herself (guest judge) 	1 episode
2016 	Sister Cities 	Dallas Baxter 	Television film
2016 	Last Week Tonight with John Oliver	Herself (guest) 	1 episode
=== Web series ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2015	Guidance 	Anna 	30 Episodes
2018	Human Kind Of	Judy (voice)	21 episodes
=== Music videos ===
Year	Title 	Artist
2004	Echo 	Trapt
2005	Tired of Being Sorry 	Ringside
2007	This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race	Fall Out Boy
== Awards and nominations ==
Year	Award 	Category 	Work 	Result 	Ref.
1997	Young Artist Award 	Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actress 	Harriet the Spy 	Won 	[23]
1998	Young Artist Award 	Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Supporting Young Actress 	Meego 	Won 	[24]
2000	YoungStar Award 	Best Young Actress in a Comedy Film 	Inspector Gadget 	Nominated	
2000	Young Artist Award 	Best Performance in a Feature Film: Supporting Young Actress 	Inspector Gadget 	Nominated	[25]
2001	Teen Choice Award 	TV – Choice Sidekick 	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Nominated	
2001	Young Artist Award 	Best Performance in a TV Drama Series: Supporting Young Actress 	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Won 	[26]
2001	Saturn Award 	Best Supporting Actress on Television 	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Nominated	
2002	Young Artist Award 	Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actress 	Truth or Scare 	Nominated	[27]
2002	Young Artist Award 	Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Guest Starring Young Actress	MADtv 	Nominated	[27]
2002	Saturn Award 	Best Supporting Television Actress 	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Nominated	
2003	Saturn Award 	Best Supporting Television Actress 	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Nominated	
2004	Daytime Emmy Award 	Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series 	Truth or Scare 	Nominated	[28]
2007	Sarasota Film Festival	Breakthrough Performer 	Beautiful Ohio 	Won 	
2012	Teen Choice Award 	Choice TV Villain 	Gossip Girl 	Nominated