Penn Badgley is remembering his Gossip Girl co-star Michelle Trachtenberg.
While on the red carpet for the premiere of the final season of You on Wednesday, he spoke out about the sudden passing of the 39-year-old actress for the first time. As you may recall, she was found dead in her New York City apartment nearly two months ago. Her official cause of death was revealed in April, with the medical examiner saying she died from complications of diabetes mellitus.
Related: Michelle Trachtenberg’s Final Film Honored Her With Touching Tribute
Michelle’s passing was devastating to so many, especially to all her friends, family, and co-stars. For Penn, who worked on Gossip Girl with her between 2007-2012, her death was very “surreal” to him. He told E! News:
“It’s surreal. Really surreal, really saddening.”
The Easy A actor then recalled his favorite memory of Michelle, saying:
“I have said this before, but what I remember of her is she was incredibly quick to laugh. She was really joyous. We all have our ups and downs, our lights and shadows, but she had this—I mean, she was mature, but she had this childlike, joyous laugh.”
While Penn hadn’t seen the Ice Princess star “in over a decade,” he knows she always had a “really pure heart.” Beautifully said. Watch his interview (below):
Michelle is greatly missed. We continue to send love to her loved ones following her death.
[Image via Gossip Girl/Warner Bros. Television, MEGA/WENN]
