Kyla Pratt is remembering the legacy of fellow former child star Michelle Trachtenberg, who died earlier this week.
“I don’t ever remember really meeting Michelle, but I knew her from films,” Pratt, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly at the 18th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards at the Fairmont Hotel on Thursday, February 27. “She was always someone who I was like, ‘Oh my God, she’s amazing.’”
Pratt added, “I grew up watching Harriet the Spy [and] I was at the Harriet the Spy premiere. … It’s so unfortunate because she was so young.”
News broke on Wednesday, February 26, that Trachtenberg — best known for roles in Harriet the Spy, Ice Princess, Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer — had been found dead inside her New York City apartment. She was 39.
“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away,” Trachtenberg’s rep told Us in a statement. “The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”
Trachtenberg is survived by her parents, her sister and her boyfriend, talent agent Jay Cohen. An official cause of death is listed as “undetermined” because the family objected to an autopsy.
“I don’t know her complete story, but I know a lot of child actors and a lot of the things that they experience and go through,” Pratt, who also rose to fame at a young age on Disney Channel, added to Us on Thursday. “I try to tell people all the time, ‘Just be pleasant when it comes to [child actors] because the things that everybody has to endure growing up and then being in an industry that takes advantage.’”
She continued, “So, to be in a situation like this, my mom was very paranoid [and] very, ‘Uh-uh, where is my baby going? Who she gonna be with?’ I also had the personality that was different than a lot [of child stars], but I feel for those who grew up in that.”
Pratt also addressed the “mental health” struggles that oftentimes come with childhood fame. (It is not known whether Trachtenberg, in particular, dealt with similar challenges.)
“It’s a lot. Mental health is very important to me, and I know a lot of people don’t understand it and don’t really breathe life and love into themselves like they do other people,” Pratt said. “So, that’s what I try to do because I need to take care of me first before I can take care of anybody else.”
With reporting by Mariel Turner
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