Michelle Trachtenberg's neighbors, left reeling from shock, are reflecting on the months preceding her untimely demise at the tender age of 39. The beloved actress, who had undergone a recent liver transplant, succumbed to cardiac arrest in her Midtown West apartment on a fateful Wednesday. While the official cause of her passing remains unknown, authorities are not treating the case as suspicious.
"Michelle always radiated happiness," shared Rafael Williams, who resided above her, shortly after the tragic news broke, speaking to Us Weekly. "I never detected anything amiss with her. Her death is astonishing to me because she seemed to be devoid of any worldly troubles." Williams expressed his "hope" that her family is coping well.
Ariana Rodriguez, another neighbor of Trachtenberg's, also heaped praise on the "Harriet the Spy" star, describing her as a "wonderful neighbor" who was "never boisterous" and "greeted everyone in the hallways with a smile." She sorrowfully added, "I'm heartbroken that I won't see her around the building anymore. She always acknowledged me warmly."
However, Rodriguez noticed a change in Trachtenberg's appearance over the past few months, remarking that she had grown "slender" and looked "increasingly unlike her former self," a sentiment echoed by fans for at least a year. The actress had seemingly shed weight, her hair had thinned, and the whites of her eyes had taken on a yellow hue. Despite this, she had insisted in January 2024 that she was "joyful and in good health."
Rodriguez also shed light on Trachtenberg's relationship with talent agent and producer Jay Cohen. "I saw her with her boyfriend a few times, and they were always strolling hand-in-hand or with his arm draped around her," she revealed. Cohen, a father of two grown daughters, was first romantically linked to Trachtenberg in 2020.
Although they kept their relationship relatively private, Cohen did share a handful of photos with the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star throughout their time together. In a July 4th selfie from 2021, he captioned it, "#fireworks are a daily occurrence with this one!!" On Valentine's Day in 2023, he posted a mirror selfie, writing, "My valentine." Trachtenberg, too, shared pictures with her beau over the years, most recently on Valentine's Day in 2025, just two weeks shy of her untimely death.
Cohen has neither acknowledged his late girlfriend's passing on social media nor responded to Page Six's request for comment. A flurry of Trachtenberg's former co-stars, including Rosie O'Donnell, Ed Westwick, Kenan Thompson, and Kim Cattrall, are mourning her loss with heartfelt online tributes.
