Hayden Panettiere, Star of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ Dies at 36

Hayden Panettiere died Sunday night. She was 36. Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed the news in a statement shared through her publicist. He described her as an incredible light who brought immeasurable love and joy to everyone who knew her and to the millions who watched her on screen. He asked for privacy as the family processes what he called an unimaginable loss.
No cause of death has been given. Her publicist, Kasey Kitchen, said an investigation is underway and that more information is expected Monday. TMZ reported that Panettiere and her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, had flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina on Saturday.

Her Career

Panettiere began her career at 11 months old in television commercials. By age five she was appearing on soap operas. She had 27 episodes on One Life to Live and 45 on Guiding Light before she was a teenager.
Her first major film role came in 2000, when she played the daughter of coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans alongside Denzel Washington. The role earned her a Young Artist Award. She followed it with parts in Raising Helen, Ice Princess, and Bring It On: All or Nothing.
In 2006, she joined the cast of Heroes on NBC as Claire Bennet, the indestructible cheerleader at the center of the show’s first and most celebrated season. She stayed with the series for 73 episodes across its run through 2010. The role made her one of the most recognizable young actresses in the country.
From 2012 to 2018, she played Juliette Barnes on Nashville, a country music star whose public image masked serious private struggles. The role earned her Golden Globe nominations in 2013 and 2014, along with Critics Choice and People’s Choice nods. She returned to horror as Kirby Reed in Scream 4 in 2011 and reprised the character in Scream VI in 2023.

Her Personal Struggles

Panettiere was open about the difficulties she faced away from the cameras. In 2014, she gave birth to her daughter Kaya with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxing champion. She has spoken publicly about the severe postpartum depression she experienced following that birth and the treatment she sought. In 2018, she gave up custody of Kaya, a decision she later said was driven by her mental health struggles and addiction.
In February 2023, her younger brother and fellow actor Jansen Panettiere died suddenly in his New York apartment at age 28 from an enlarged heart and aortic valve complications. Hayden described his death as the most devastating loss of her life, saying there was nothing in her life that felt like losing her other half.
In May 2026, she published a memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, which addressed her childhood fame, addiction, postpartum depression, and grief over her brother’s death. She had appeared publicly in recent months to promote the book.

Source: ABC News, CNN, NBC News, Variety, TMZ, Hollywood Reporter