Zane Carney; Michelle Trachtenberg.Photo:Amanda Edwards/Getty; Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Amanda Edwards/Getty; Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Michelle Trachtenberg’s ex Zane Carney is mourning the loss of his “first love” following news ofher sudden deathat 39. The NYPD told PEOPLE that officers responded to a 911 call on Wednesday, Feb. 26, pronouncing the late actress as deceased.
In a heartfelt tribute shared toInstagramon Wednesday, Feb. 26, the guitarist, also 39, recalled how he met and fell in love with the late actress when the two were just kids.
“I just heard the news about Michelle and I’m in shock,” he began in the lengthy post.
Carney then shared a little known fact about his “former child acting days,” saying he appeared on the sitcomDave’s Worldfrom 1993 until 1997 “long before I picked up a guitar.”
Trachtenberg and Carney’s paths crossed while making the series. His Instagram post included a photo of the two with two other child actors on the show’s set.
Though Trachtenberg starred in several roles as a child, her breakout role came in the 1996 movieHarriet the Spy, in which she portrayed the titular character oppositeRosie O’Donnellat just 10 years old.
“I remember seeingHarriet The Spyand IMMEDIATELY developing the biggest crush on Michelle (the lead!) I bought all the merch, rewatched it on VHS and hoped that one day I’d meet her so she could be my girlfriend,” Carney wrote.
Michelle Trachtenberg as Harriet The Spy - 1996.Rafy/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Rafy/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
His wildest dreams soon came true.
“Then I got a word from our casting director that Michelle Trachtenberg herself was going to be a gasp GUEST STAR ON OUR NEXT EPISODE!” he said.
Carney admitted he was “so nervous to meet her” and when he finally did, those feelings “grew tenfold.”
“Of course Michelle walked up WHILE THIS HUMILIATION WAS OCCURRING,” Carney said, admitting that the embarrassing moment eventually worked in his favor.
Michelle Trachtenberg, January 2020.Randy Shropshire/Getty
Randy Shropshire/Getty
“She and I developed a truly deep and special connection. Within a few weeks, we were boyfriend and girlfriend (I know, I still can’t believe it either). Michelle was my first love,” Carney wrote.
He also recalled going all out for her birthday, which included getting his dad to help him “record a version of the Beatles' ‘Michelle’ which we played over the loudspeakers at her birthday party.”
“She ran out of the party half-embarrassed-half-smitten (as kids do) but later revealed how much that meant to her,” Carney said.
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The former child star wrote that he and theGossip Girlactress “stayed in touch all these years and even spoke as recently as October/November 2024.”
A cause of death has not been confirmed. However, she recently underwent a liver transplant, sources tell PEOPLE.
source: people.com