Mara Wilson Remembers Michelle Trachtenberg’s Experience with Teen Bullying
Mara Wilson is reflecting on her late friend, Michelle Trachtenberg.
The 37-year-old former child actress wrote a heartfelt tribute for Vulture, honoring Trachtenberg, who passed away on February 26 at the age of 39. Wilson recounted how their friendship blossomed in the 1990s after she starred in Matilda and Trachtenberg in Harriet the Spy.
She explained that she, Trachtenberg, and other young stars, such as Jerry Maguire’s Jonathan Lipnicki, formed a tight-knit circle. Wilson described how Trachtenberg supported her in the aftermath of her mother’s death.
“In April 1997, while we were at the film festival, it marked one year since my mother had died,” Wilson recalled. “Being in the group in New York felt secure, the one place my mother’s absence didn’t haunt me. However, on the anniversary of her death, I broke down. Michelle and the others surrounded me with hugs and tried everything they could to lift my spirits.”
Later, Trachtenberg relocated from New York to Burbank, California, where Wilson also resided, and they attended the same middle school.
Wilson shared how the late Buffy the Vampire Slayer star once opened up about the bullying she faced from classmates who labeled her as “mean.”
“‘Are the kids here unkind to you?’ she asked. ‘Sometimes,’ I replied,” Wilson reflected. “‘Because they are to me,’ she said, with tears in her eyes. ‘They call me Harriet the S–t, Harriet the Bitch, Harriet the Bitchy Spy… and so much worse. They never relent.’”
“I had never witnessed Michelle cry before. She was always poised and self-assured. I realized then that’s why they branded her as ‘mean.’ Because they were cruel to her first, and when she defended herself, they labeled her a bitch,” she continued.
Michelle Trachtenberg’s Hollywood journey wasn’t exclusively filled with bright lights. Since her rise to prominence as a child star in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy, she took part in numerous projects, including popular series like Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although the actress achieved fame, her path was not without difficulties.
“The issue wasn’t only that she was being bullied; it was the reality that there was no way to stop them from disliking her. A significant part of being a child actor revolves around pleasing everyone. It felt tragically ironic to be so despised when our main goal was to gain approval,” Wilson remarked.
Wilson also recounted her reaction upon learning of Trachtenberg’s death last month.
“I was packing for a work trip when I saw the news on my phone. It felt like my stomach sank. My hands trembled and my knees buckled — I thought I might faint. I sat down and began to cry,” she shared.
Wilson continued, “This wasn’t meant to happen. She was too young. She had put in so much effort. I always believed I would have another chance to see her, to tell her how much I admired her. To express that the moments we shared in childhood were some of the greatest of my life.”
On February 26, Michelle Trachtenberg was discovered unconscious and unresponsive in her midtown NYC apartment by her mother, Lana. She was only 39 years old. “It is with deep sorrow that we confirm Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away,” the actress’s representative confirmed to Us Weekly. As news of her tragic passing circulated, […]
Reports indicated that Trachtenberg was found dead in her New York City apartment on February 26. The cause of death has been deemed “undetermined” as her family refused an autopsy. (Trachtenberg is survived by her parents, her sister, and her boyfriend, Jay Cohen.)
