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90s kids may or may not recognize the name "Michelle Trachtenberg," but they will know that voice and that face at a glance. How could you forget Nona F. Mecklenberg from The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1994-96)? Little Pete's young friend with her arm seemingly always in a cast. Millennials may be more familiar with Trachtenberg's part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2000-03), where she played Dawn Summers. Wherever you may recognize her from, if you were a kid at any point between 1980-2010, chances are she was a formative part of your early years.

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Whisked Into Stardom

Michelle Trachtenberg was born in New York City on October 11, 1985 to bank manager Lana and fiber-optics engineer Michael Trachtenberg. Her career began when she was just three years old, appearing in a TV spot for Wisk laundry detergent. Over the coming years she would be cast in more than a hundred other commercials before finally earning recurring roles on television. These would include the soap opera All My Children (1993-96) where she featured as Lily Montgomery, a one-episode appearance on Clarissa Explains it All (1993), and of course, the part of Nona Mecklenberg in The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

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While we may remember Nona as being fundamental to the series, she was actually a late addition. The series officially debuted in 1993, with Nona being created for the second season, debuting in 1994. Not only that, the characters dated back farther than the show's premiere, beginning with a series of minute-long shorts that would run during commercial breaks on Nickelodeon in 1989, and then a number of half-hour specials produced through the early 90s. In fact, Michelle Trachtenberg would have been only four years old when Pete & Pete first appeared on Nickelodeon. Even so, it is difficult to look back and imagine the series without Nona.

Following The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Michelle starred in Harriet the Spy (1996), a Nickelodeon-produced feature film co-starring Rosie O'Donnell and based on the popular book series. A number of roles would follow including Richie Rich's Christmas Wish (1998) and the Inspector Gadget (1999) film where she played Penny, but the role that would really define Trachtenberg in her teen years as Pete & Pete had in her childhood would be Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, based on the film of the same name.

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Just as with Pete & Pete, Trachtenberg was a later addition to the series, joining in for the last sixty-six of one hundred forty-four total episodes, and just like with Pete & Pete, it's difficult to imagine the show without her. To join a TV series after the first season and be welcomed by fans is a rare feat, and Michelle's pulled it off twice.

Buffy helped to launch Michelle into the grown-up era of her career, and soon she would be cast in the comedy film EuroTrip (2004), and TV shows including Six Feet Under (2004), House (2006), and of course, Gossip Girl (2008-12), in a recurring role as real estate mogul Georgina Sparks.

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Since Then...

In recent years Trachtenberg has featured in fewer leading and major supporting roles, but has stayed consistently busy. Her filmography shows very few years where she didn't work on multiple projects. In 2009 she acted in the films Against the Current (2009) and 17 Again (2009), while still finding time to feature on Mercy (2009-2010) and even lend her voice to The Super Hero Squad Show (2009) as Valkyrie for two episodes. She's featured in guest spots or recurring roles on Criminal Minds (2013), NCIS: Los Angeles (2013), Sleepy Hollow (2015), Weeds (2011) and even turned up to judge an episode of Chopped Junior (2016).

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Over the last ten year, Trachtenberg has largely made her career as a "working actress." Not a movie star, but someone who can be trusted to turn in a strong performance whether it's a leading role, supporting, or just a bit part. And yet, when given the opportunity to create an era-defining character like Dawn Summers or Nona Mecklenberg, she's always stepped up to the plate and delivered a standout performance.

Michelle has been nominated for over a dozen awards throughout her career, winning three Young Artist Awards for her early work, and a Sarasota Film Festival award for Beautiful Ohio (2006). While her recent roles have largely been smaller parts, or leading parts in smaller projects, it seems like it's only a matter of time before her next major film or television character reminds us of what made her one of the most compelling young actresses of the 1990s and 2000s.

"I come from a place where the press makes or breaks an actor and it is more of a teamwork relationship."