Late Gossip Girl and Buffy star Michelle Trachtenberg’s boyfriend was holding down the fort at her family’s Los Angeles home on Wednesday after her mother found the actress dead in her New York apartment.
Teary-eyed and in the throes of grief, talent agent Jay Cohen, 63, answered the door at the Trachtenbergs’ Sherman Oaks home.
His presence at the family home suggests he and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, who died age 39, were still dating, after being first officially linked in 2020.
And residency records linked Michelle and her mother to the four-bed, 2,620 square-feet Sherman Oaks home dating back several years. Cohen is registered as residing there from 2021.
He told DailyMail.com that ‘the family will not be commenting on the tragedy.’
He added that Michelle’s sister and mother were not home – as her mother was reportedly the one to find the Gossip Girl star’s body at her Manhattan apartment around 8am Wednesday morning.
Late Gossip Girl and Buffy star Michelle Trachtenberg’s, 39, boyfriend of nearly five years was holding down the fort at her family’s Los Angeles home on Wednesday after her passing
Lana, Michelle’s mom, discovered her body inside her New York City apartment on Wednesday. Cohen told DailyMail.com that the family would not be commenting on the tragedy
Jay Cohen, Michelle’s boyfriend, talking to a DailyMail.com reporter from Trachtenberg’s family home in Beverly Hills
Michelle wished Cohen a happy Valentine’s Day earlier this month, writing on Instagram, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day to the man who sits still long enough for me to paint his face’, with a picture of the couple dressed as Jekyll and Hyde for Halloween.
Cohen is a father of two from a previous relationship and a partner at top Hollywood talent agency Gersh, with a background on Wall Street.
Trachtenberg joined Gersh in 2014.
Though a medical examiner is yet to determine her exact cause of death, sources told TMZ that the actress had recently undergone a liver transplant after battling alcohol issues.
Police sources also told ABC news that she may have suffered complications following a liver transplant.
Cohen also had a kidney transplant in 1999.
Though a medical examiner is yet to determine her exact cause of death, sources told TMZ that the actress had recently undergone a liver transplant after battling alcohol issues
Michelle wishing Cohen a happy Valentine’s Day earlier this month, joking that he was the man who ‘sits long enough for me to paint his face’
Michelle was found dead Wednesday in her New York City apartment near Columbus Circle (pictured with medical examiner van outside) just after 8am local time
In July 2023, he made a heartfelt post marking the 24th anniversary of the transplant.
‘When asked what they wanted for their birthdays prior they asked for me to get healthy,’ he wrote, referring to his daughters Rachel and Lili.
He praised the donor, therapist Suzi Landolphi.
‘I don’t know what I did to deserve her kidney and her gift but I know I live as healthy as possible for my mind and my body to treat [it] with the respect she deserves,’ he said in the post. ‘Life is worth fighting for, help people as you can give love not hate!’
In March last year, Michelle posted a birthday tribute to her boyfriend, writing: ‘Happy Birthday to the man who puts up with me @jaymcohen’
Cohen first posted Michelle on his social media in July 2021, with the caption: ‘#fireworks are every day with this one !!’
During a talk at Toronto International Film Festival in 2015, he said he got into the movie business ‘by accident’.
Cohen also had a kidney transplant in 1999, and in July 2023, he made a heartfelt post marking the 24th anniversary of the transplant
The Hollywood producer is a father to two daughters: Lili (left) and Rachel (right)
The couple, who have been dating since 2020, are likely to have met in 2014 when Michelle was signed to The Gersh Agency. Sources revealed at the time that Jay was her talent agent
‘I started out as an investment banker in New York, made my way to L.A., financed some movies for people by accident so I learned how to make movies because I invested in a movie and turns out the producers didn’t understand they weren’t supposed to the the money home,’ he said.
‘So I took the movie over, learned all about film production, started a production company with Dustin Hoffman, made a lot of movies.’
Swimming With Sharks, Two for the Money and Bride Wars are among his producer credits.
Police said they received the call about Michelle just after 8am.
‘On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at approximately 0801 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an aided individual at 1 Columbus Place, within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct,’ police said in a statement.
‘Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased.
‘Criminality is not suspected. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing.’
