Michelle Trachtenberg

Michelle Trachtenberg is all about variety.



Michelle stars in Against the Current, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Trachtenberg is also set to return on the TV show Gossip Girls as Georgina Sparks towards the end of the season. Michelle Trachtenberg first did the crazy gal role in the first season of Gossip Girls on the CW last year. The popular show about spoilt rich teens living in Manhattan's Upper East Side has storylines revolving around the spread of gossip via mobile phones. It's a subject Trachtenberg knows plenty about. "It was funny," she says. "The second it was announced I joined the show I got more emails and texts than what I got for my birthday. They were like, Oh my god, that's my favorite show, and I'm like, Oh my god, where were you when it was my birthday?."



8 years ago Michelle Trachtenberg had become popular in another TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played the role of Buffy's younger sister Dawn in the show's last season on The WB (2000-01). When the series moved to the UPN network in the fall of 2001, Trachtenberg went along, continuing to assist her sister in the fight against supernatural creatures.



Michelle had worked with Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar in previous shows, so when she joined at age 15 Sarah told her, "Hey, come by the set, and see how it works. I know you've always loved the show--come and visit." Gellar also taught Trachtenberg how to bowl, and it became her new hobby.

After Buffy Michelle Trachtenberg did the roaring sex-comedy Euro Trip (rated R). Originally the role required her character to be nude in a scene, but Michelle who was 17 at the time of the shooting, told Teen Hollywood, "In a teen comedy I don't think it's necessary to go out and bare your boobs-to be blunt." Hence Trachtenberg's only revealing scene was wearing a sexy bikini with a flashing scene of her naked back, for which she says, "I had material upfront and tape and everything and I was all strapped in."

Michelle Trachtenberg and Hayden Panettiere in The Ice Princess

After Euro Trip, Michelle Trachtenberg did the drama-comedy The Ice Princess with Kim Cattrall and Joan Cusack. The wholesome family movie has Michelle playing a bookworm who gets drawn into competitive ice skating. Trachtenberg says, "I trained for eight months for the movie. And my big favorite move to do is the outside edge spread eagle, which I worked really hard on and came close to perfecting it many times, and finally, one day, it hit."



Michelle Trachtenberg is of part-Jewish heritage; her father is from Germany and mother a Jewish migrant from Russia, while her grandparents live in Israel. The New York gal was born Oct 11 1985. In her pre-teen years Michelle Trachtenberg was in the movie Harriet the Spy. She got a start in the entertainment industry at the age of 4 doing TV commercials. Later Michelle began appearing regularly on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete and All My Children.



Michelle appeared on many other TV shows like Six Feet Under, Law & Order, and House.


She has also done music videos; for Trapt's video, Echo, then for the Fall Out Boy music video for This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race, and for the Joaquin Phoenix-directed video Tired of Being Sorry.

Samaire Armstrong, Ciara, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Hilary Duff appeared in Candie's ad campaign in 2005

Michelle Trachtenberg will star in 17 Again with Zac Effron this year. It is about a 42-year old (Matthew Perry) who magically turns back to being 17 (Zac Effron) and goes to school with his own daughter Maggie (played by Michelle). Talking about her own time in school Trachtenberg says, "I wore a uniform to school and I would rebel so hard against the uniform. I'd wear like striped socks and platform shoes and tons and tons of necklaces."



In 2006 Michelle Trachtenberg started her own jewelry line Bella Veritas."I had been making necklaces with semiprecious stones just for fun, when my friends said, You know what? These are pretty great - you should sell these!" said Trachtenberg.

Model Jessica Stam and Michelle

Michelle was named by Teen People Magazine as one of "20 Teens Who Will Change the World." Trachtenberg has been an active spokesperson for RADD, DARE America, The Starlight Foundation and many other charities. She helped President Clinton launch "The Coalition for Drug Free America" campaign. Michelle says, "I'm very much a supporter of charities that tell kids that it's not important to do drugs to be successful. I'm very much against under age drinking and drugs of any sort and drinking and driving. I have never done any drugs whatsoever in my life and I don't plan to. It's not something that you need."




As for personal relationships Michelle is said to have dated Canadian X-Men star Shawn Ashmore, Sex And The City star Jason Lewis, and Pete Wentz.

Michelle is close to her mother and grew up with her in LA while her father continues to live in New York. Even though she is naturally skinny Trachtenberg says, "My background is Russian, so cheese and potatoes are my love." She loves playing tennis, swimming, and ice skating. For her training for The Ice Princess Michelle had to follow a special diet. "They set up a nutritionist and sports doctors, and all these experts," Trachtenberg says, "They're like, Well, you want to stick to grains, vegetables. I'm like, Right. Give me chocolate."

Michelle Trachtenberg with close friend Lydia Hearst