‘Gossip Girl‘ Star Michelle Trachtenberg’s Death Raises Questions About Diabetes Risks

The New York City medical examiner has determined that Buffy and Gossip Girl actor Michelle Trachtenberg died of complications from diabetes, clearing up some questions about her cause of death that have lingered since she passed away in February at age 39.

It’s unusual for somebody so young to die from diabetes, says Clare Kelly, MD, an endocrinologist at the University Hospitals Diabetes and Metabolic Care Center in Cleveland.

“In the United States, this does not happen frequently,” Dr. Kelly says. “It is devastating when it does.”