The great child actressMichelle Trachtenbergdied today, Jul 22, 2025. This follows a liver transplant the actor received, along with several Instagram posts which had alarmed some friends and fans, with the images portraying an extremely gaunt Trachtenberg. AsThe New York Postwrites, “Trachtenberg was found by her mother at around 8 a.m. Wednesday at One Columbus Place, a 51-story luxury apartment complex in Manhattan’s Central Park South neighborhood, the sources said […] The NYPD confirmed Trachtenberg was found ‘unconscious and unresponsive’ by police and pronounced dead by EMS workers.”
Trachtenberg, born on Jul 10, 2025, began her career as a child actor, eventually joining a live-action Nickelodeon series,The Adventures of Pete & Pete, at the age of nine. That series began as little interstitial shorts in 1989, which became popular enough to warrant a handful of TV specials. Going from 30 seconds to 30 minutes only madeThe Adventures of Pete & Petebetter, and Nickelodeon premiered the first of its three seasons on June 08, 2025. Trachtenberg joined the series in Season 2, playing Nona F. Mecklenberg, the young, soulful friend of Little Pete. She was a pipsqueak but seemed wise and troubled beyond her nine years.
While Trachtenberg had a handful of credits beforeThe Adventures of Pete & Pete, like a three-episode run onAll My Childrenand a guest spot onClarissa Explains It All, it was the live-action Nickelodeon series that revealed Trachtenberg’s talents to the world and gained her quick attention. She would go on to give great performances inHarriet the Spy, Inspector Gadget, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl, and especiallyMysterious SkinandSix Feet Under. But it’sThe Adventures of Pete & Petewhich stands out to me as her best show.
Why ‘The Adventures of Pete & Pete’ Is the Best Way to Remember Michelle Trachtenberg
Of course, her work inBuffy the Vampire SlayerandSix Feet Underis incredible, and both are masterful shows. However, she was only in four episodes ofSix Feet Under, and with the abuse allegations thatTrachtenberg had levied against Joss Whedon, I’d prefer not to celebrateBuffy the Vampire Slayer. Instead,The Adventures of Pete & Petestands out in her career as a place of pure joy. Before the abuse, the fame, the drugs, and the heavy burden of existence itself, nine-year-old Michelle Trachtenberg could be seen having a blast on this quirky, surreal masterpiece of kids' television.
How a 1991 TV Series Broke All the Rules of Kids Shows
The Adventures of Pete & Pete broke barriers by elevating Nickelodeon with adult themes, punk rock guest stars, and two talented young actors.
The Adventures of Pete & Petefollows the wacky travails of the titular ginger brothers, the older Pete played by Michael Maronna and the younger Pete played by Danny Tamberelli. It sometimes feels like a live-action cartoon, but is softer and gentler, laced with a bit of melancholy. It had a bit of an edge, reflecting the contemporaneous grunge movement and sporting enough flannel to clothe Seattle. The music (from the band Polaris) was great, too. It was probably the first show that made someone feel cooler for watching and being “in the know,” creating hipster middle schoolers along the way.
The show is set in the fictional Wellsville (“The Sideburn State”), which is as fleshed-out asThe Simpsons— we know the neighbors, the teachers, the bus driver, and all the little cliques. The entire cast was excellent, creating a lived-in world that felt completely relatable to kids despite its occasional magic. The Petes' eccentric parents (a perfect Judy Grafe and Hardy Rawls) were quirky as hell, but there was genuine emotional honesty in their interactions with their kids.
Big Pete’s long-running crush became the crush of all us young boys — Ellen (Alison Fanelli). I still can’t erase the image of her in a full bunny costume trying to sell pizza in the snow. It’s scenes like that which madeThe Adventures of Pete & Petestand out so much. The surrealism is also tinged with sadness in characters like Toby Huss' Artie, the Strongest Man in the World, and in James Mecklenberg, played by iconic rocker Iggy Pop. He was the “Pop” to Nora, Trachtenberg’s character, and their father-daughter relationship is still one of the sweetest and realest I’ve seen on TV. The high school dance episode continues to inspire throat lumps and wet eyes.
Michelle Trachtenberg and the Incredible Cast of ‘Pete & Pete’
The series was brimming with great guest stars, a testament to its anomalous existence as one of the most artful and intelligent kids' shows of all time. Adam West, Steve Buscemi, J.K. Simmons, Drew Carey, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Selma Blair, Alicia Keys, Heather Matarazzo, LL Cool J, Janeane Garofalo, Damian Young, Elizabeth Bogush, Martin Donovan, Juliana Hatfield, John McLaughlin, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Art Donovan, and many others all showed up to have fun in the series. Even Patty Hearst appeared!
Related:Joss Whedon Wasn’t Allowed to Be Alone with Michelle Trachtenberg on Buffy Set
But it was Trachtenberg’s Nora I keep returning to, as such an honest, funny, tough, but also vulnerable young girl navigating family, life, and love in the ’90s. She helped other characters like Little Pete and Pop shine while also being a surprisingly progressive and independent female character for the time.
It’s criminal thatThe Adventures of Pete & Peteisn’t streaming on any platform, though individual episodes are available to buy for $1.99 each onPrime Video here. And if you do just a quick YouTube search or two, or search online for DailyMotion videos, I guarantee you can go back and revisitThe Adventures of Pete & Peteand Trachtenberg when she was happy and full of life. She will be missed.
