Rosie O’Donnell wishes she could've done more for Michelle Trachtenberg

Anthony Robledo, USA TODAYFri, July 17, 2026 at 1:33 AM UTC

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Rosie O’Donnell said she wishes she could have done more for Michelle Trachtenberg before her death last year.

In an interview with Variety published Thursday, July 16, "The View" alum said she tried to help her "Harriet the Spy" costar after she believed Trachtenberg had gotten into drugs and alcohol, adding that she wished she could have done more.

"She got into drugs and alcohol, I believe, and then I lost touch with her. In the last few years, when she was in pretty bad shape, she would call me and we would talk," O'Donnell told the outlet. "I also called her mother to find out what was going on, and her mother told me what was happening, and how long it had been happening."

Trachtenberg died in February 2025 at age 39 from complications of diabetes mellitus, according to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. She was found unconscious and unresponsive at an apartment building and later pronounced dead on the scene when EMS officials arrived, the New York Police Department previously confirmed. The manner of death was determined to be natural.

The comedian said she was supposed to see the "Gossip Girl" actress three or four times at restaurants or at her house, but that "she just never showed up."

"We’d had someone prepare the whole meal. I would call her and go, 'Honey, are you heading over?' and she’d go, 'Was that today?' She was not in good shape," she said. "I didn’t think that she would die," she said.

She continued: "With most people suffering from addiction, their loved ones think that they’ll survive it, but you can die from your addiction to drugs or alcohol, and it happens too often that it must be taken seriously."

Rosie O'Donnell says Michelle Trachtenberg was 'inaccessible'

O'Donnell said she made efforts to connect with Trachtenberg.

"I wish I could have done more. I tried to help her as much as I could, but she was inaccessible toward the end, and it was tragic," she added.

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She compared the situation to the death of Whitney Houston, who accidentally drowned in a bathtub in 2012. Houston's autopsy found she was acutely intoxicated with cocaine at the time of her death and showed evidence of chronic cocaine use.

"Everyone knew what was going on, but no one was willing to say something, and often because the people that are closest to you are employed by you when you're that big of an entity," O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell also opened up about how addiction has impacted her personally, adding that her daughter was "born addicted to drugs and never really had a fair shake." Her daughter Chelsea, 28, has been sober for a year and a half after she was sentenced to prison last year for violating the terms of her probation following a series of arrests.

"It’s very serious and there are millions of families in America going through the same thing," she continued.

O’Donnell said Trachtenberg was "a real genius child who was able to memorize anything, pick up her lines, you could improvise with her, and she was connected and right there."

The two starred in 1996's coming-of-age film "Harriet the Spy," in which Trachenberg, then 9, played a clever girl aspiring to be a writer, while O’Donnell, then 32, played her nanny and mentor, Catherine "Ole Golly."

Following her death, O'Donnell told Us Weekly, "I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped."

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rosie O'Donnell shares regret over Michelle Trachtenberg

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