Penn Badgley Reacts To The Death of Gossip Girl Costar Michelle Trachtenberg: ‘Surreal’

The You star opened up about the death of his friend and fellow Gossip Girl star while walking the red carpet for the premiere of his  Netflix thriller series’ fifth season.

“What I remember of her is she was incredibly quick to laugh,” he told E! News.

“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.”

Trachtenberg’s passing came as a shock to Hollywood. She was just 39 years old when she was found dead in her apartment. It has since been confirmed by The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that she passed away due to complications from diabetes mellitus. Her death was ruled as natural.

While Badgley hadn’t seen the late actress in “over a decade” he said her passing feels “surreal.”

“Really surreal, really saddening,” he said before adding that she had a “really pure heart.”

Not long after Trachtenberg’s shocking passing was confirmed, fellow celebrities and former co-stars began paying tribute to the late actress.

Blake Lively, who starred in Gossip Girl alongside the late TV and film star, shared a photo of them from their first day working together to Instagram, saying, “She was electricity.”

“Everything she did, she did 200%. She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes,” she continued, before sharing, “Time passes. You take for granted that you get the chance to see an old friend.”

“The real tragedies in life are the ones that blindside you on an idle Tuesday,” said Lively, telling others to hold their loved ones close.