Sarah Michelle Gellar has paid tribute to her late Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, marking what would have been her 40th birthday.
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Trachtenberg died in February, at the age of 39. It was speculated that her death was due to complications from a rejected liver transplant, but reports later emerged pointing to a natural death stemming from diabetes complications.
The news prompted a wave of tributes for the actor, who got her major breakthrough as Dawn Summers, the younger sister of Gellar’s Buffy in the cult WB series. She joined in season five in 2000 and remaining on the show until its conclusion with season seven in 2003, with the role earning her a Teen Choice Award nomination in 2001.
Taking to Instagram yesterday on what would have been Trachtenberg’s 40th birthday (October 11), Gellar looked back at memories shared with her onscreen sister with a poignant video soundtracked by Wiz Khalifa’s ‘See You Again’.
“When you turned 16, it was hard not to still see you as the little girl I met on All My Children,” she captioned the post. “When you turned 21, I had to teach myself to not see you as the little sister anymore. I can’t imagine what 40 would have been like. This I know… it would be filled with love. Happy birthday @michelletrachtenberg”
In February, the actress revealed that a revival of Buffy The Vampire Slayer was in the works, with Hulu reported to be the new home for the show. Gellar will reprise her role as Buffy Summers, although the new show will focus on a new Slayer, set to be played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong (American Horror Story: Red Tide).
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She later shared hopes that the new version would serve as a reunion for all of the characters from the original seven seasons of the show.
“It will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original,” Gellar said. “We will try to find a balance between new and old characters. My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well.”
The supernatural drama was initially overseen by showrunner Joss Whedon, although he will not return for the revival. Instead, Nora and Lila Zuckerman will write and showrun the new version and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) will direct.
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