Actress Rosie O'Donnell shared details about the last years of her former co-star, Michelle Trachtenberg, who died in February 2025 at the age of 39. In a recent interview with Variety, O'Donnell spoke openly about the actress's deteriorating health and her struggle with addiction, offering a more intimate and tragic side to the child star's life.

The connection between the two actresses was born on the set of the 1996 film “Harriet the Spy,” where O'Donnell played young Michelle's nanny.

O'Donnell remembered Trachtenberg as a talented prodigy: "She was a real genius kid, able to memorize anything, learn her lines, you could improvise with her, and she was connected and present." For O'Donnell, the death of his young companion is "a tragedy."

Fight against addictions

In the interview, O'Donnell revealed that, over the years, she lost contact with Trachtenberg because, she believes, the actress "got into drugs and alcohol." Despite the distance, O'Donnell tried to maintain a bond, especially in recent years, when he noticed that the actress "was in very bad condition."

"In recent years, when she was in a very bad state, she would call me and we would talk. I also called her mother to find out what was happening, and her mother told me what was happening and how long it had been happening" Rosie O'Donnell

Attempts to meet were in vain. The actress recalled: "We were supposed to see each other three or four times, and she never showed up. I would call her and say, 'Honey, are you coming?' and she would say, 'Was it today?'" O’Donnell concluded: “I wasn’t in good shape.”

Despite her efforts to help, O'Donnell admitted to feeling helpless: “I tried to help her as much as I could, but in the end she was inaccessible, and it was tragic.

On the nature of addiction, he added: “With most people who suffer from addiction, their loved ones think they will survive, but you can die from drug or alcohol addiction.”

O'Donnell's statements come after the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Michelle Trachtenberg's death was "complications resulting from diabetes mellitus" and that it was a death from natural causes. The actress's family opposed performing an autopsy for religious reasons.