“She is simply a great actress,” Debby Beece, then-president of Nickelodeon Movies told the Los Angeles Daily News when the film debuted. “We looked at 350 girls, but there was no question in our minds that Michelle was the right girl for the job.”
In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Trachtenberg recalled her time on the film’s set as a formative experience and said she still received messages on social media from fans inspired by her performance.
“I turned 10 years old on the first day of principal photography of Harriet the Spy. Rosie was my biggest supporter,” she said of her co-star. “There was a lot required of me. I’m extremely grateful for the experience.”
From 2000 to 2003, she starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the title character’s younger sister. In a 2017 Hollywood Reporter interview, Trachtenberg reflected on the show’s impact.
“It showed that women can kick some fucking ass! It showed that women can star in a show and be the title character. … Buffy proved that a woman could steer the ship,” she said.
