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Sarah Michelle Gellar is mourning the loss of her Buffy the Vampire Slayer costar Michelle Trachtenberg after her sudden death at the age of 39.
Gellar took to her Instagram on Thursday (February 27) to share an emotional tribute to her late on-screen little sister, penning a paraphrased quote from the season five finale of beloved series about finding the strength to live after the loss of someone you love.
"'Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you," she captioned the post. "The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live... for you' 💔💔💔🗝️"
The I Know What You Did Last Summer star also shared a carousel featuring several photos of the pair together both on and off screen, including a sweet snap of Trachtenberg holding one of Gellar's kids as a baby, per Page Six. While Trachtenberg joined the cast of Buffy in its fifth season as Dawn, the younger sister to Buffy, and staying on the show until the series ended, the pair had been longtime friends after previously working together on All My Children.
More of Trachtenberg's Buffy costars shared their own tributes after news broke of her death. In a statement to People, James Marsters said that "we have lost a beautiful soul" who "leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her" and remembered her as "fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny and a very talented person."
Alyson Hannigan shared that she was "deeply saddened" by her loss and remembered the actress bringing "a loving energy to the set," while Amber Benson said "the world is less bright without her in it."
Kristine Sutherland, who played Buffy and Dawn's mother Joyce, said in a statement that she was "devastated" to hear of her passing, adding, "The day she joined the Buffy family she brought a joy and innocence with her along with her talent. She was lovely to work with and will be missed."
The Ice Princess star tragically passed away at 39 years old on Wednesday (February 26) after she was found "unconscious and unresponsive" in her New York City apartment. She was declared dead at the scene. No criminality was suspected and her death is not being investigated as suspicious.
Though her official cause of death is undetermined, with her family declining an autopsy, Trachtenberg reportedly recently underwent a liver transplant. A source also said she had been "struggling" and "really sick" in the year prior to her death.