Trachtenberg

Celebrity Highlights: Michelle Trachtenberg

Kadie Sharp SHA04007@BYUI.EDU A&E Assistant Editor

Best known for her role as Dawn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Michelle Trachtenberg was born on October 11, 1985 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Trachtenberg’s acting career began with a commercial for Whisk detergent at the age of three.

Her first role on television was on an episode of Law and Order where she played a dying child. Throughout the next seven years, Trachtenberg landed roles in TV shows and films such as All My Children, Harriet the Spy, Inspector Gadget and Snow Day.

According to www.michelletrachtenberg.net, Trachtenberg watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer religiously and told her agent to find her a spot on the show even if it was a minor part.

At that time, Joss Whedon, the show’s creator, was looking for someone new for the fifth season. Trachtenberg won the role as Dawn Summers and stayed with the show until it ended in 2003.

Her latest films have been Eurotrip, Mysterious Skin, Disney’s Ice Princess and The Dive from Clausen’s Pier. Due to come out this year, Trachtenberg plays Cindy in Four Women, a movie about four women getting picked up by two men in a truck after being stranded in the desert. Trachtenberg is also cast in Beautiful Ohio and Vinyl, which will both come out in 2006.

Besides acting, Trachtenberg plays an active part in charities such as D.A.R.E., R.A.D.D., Youth of America and The Starlight Children’s Foundation. For her charity, Trachtenberg was named as one of Teen People’s 20 Teens Who Will Change the World.